Outbound trips up by 6,000 over July 2012

The number of outbound tourist trips towards EU countries stood at 37,560, while a further 3,750 trips headed towards Non-EU destinations.

When compared to the same month last year, the EU market went up by 25 per cent, while outbound trips towards Non-EU destinations dropped by 1,343, or 26 per cent. Italy and the UK continued to be the most popular destinations among Maltese tourists, with market shares of 32 and 17 per cent respectively. When compared to July 2012, the Italian market rose by 30 per cent, whereas the British market decreased by 8 per cent.

The majority of outbound tourists were males.

Furthermore, 35 per cent of outbound tourists fell in the 25-44 year old age bracket and were followed by those in the 45-64 age category at 32 per cent.

Out of 45,784 outbound visitor trips, the number of same-day visitors stood at 4,474.

Outbound tourism during this seven-month period stood at 191,159 - an increase of 12 per cent when compared to the previous year. Nearly 90 per cent of these outbound tourists chose to visit EU destinations. Both EU and Non-EU trips went up when compared tolast year's levels, reaching 167,382 and 23,777 respectively. Italy and the UK remained the two most popular destinations, and made up 56 per cent of the total outbound tourism market. Almost all European markets exhibited upward shifts, except for the German market which retained last year's levels.

At 41 per cent, the largest share of outbound tourists fell within the 25-44 age group and were followed by the 45-64 year old category, which stood at 32 per cent. Male tourists made up 58 per cent of the total.

Out of 214,401 outbound visitor trips, the number of same-day visitors was estimated at 23,242.