Updated | 9.3% increase in tourist arrivals during August

Tourist arrivals in August increased by 9.3% when compared to the same month last year, NSO said today. Last August, the total number of tourist arrivals reached 218,799.

Almost 197,000 tourists visited Malta for holiday purposes, signaling an increase of 13%. On the other hand, those visiting Malta for business purposes numbered 5,135.

Inbound tourists from EU Member States went up by 8 per cent, while non-EU tourists also increased by 18%.

One in every four tourists arrived from the UK, while Italian tourists made up 19% of total arrivals. NSO said that all major tourism markets recorded increases when compared to last year.

Total nights spent during August reached almost 2.2 million, the majority of which were spent in collective accommodation establishments. Nights spent in private accommodation declined by 3 per cent.

In the first eight months of 2013, the total number of tourists who visited Malta during this period approached the 1.1 million mark.

The main tourism markets remained the UK and Italy, with a notable increase recorded from the Libyan, Austrian and Russian markets. On the other hand, the Spanish market dropped by 14 per cent when compared to last year’s levels.

Total nights spent rose by 9 per cent, surpassing the 8.8 million mark, with the majority spent in collective accommodation. The average length of stay for this period stood at 8.3 nights.

During the same period, total tourist expenditure was estimated at €986.5 million, up by 9 per cent when compared to 2012. 

Ministry's statement

In light of these results, the Ministry of Tourism issued a statement underlining the importance not to "politicize the tourism sector".

"The Ministry feels that first and foremost Malta’s tourism industry should continue to be exempted from the status of a political football, which the opposition’s current attitude seems to want it to become.  Over the past years successive Governments and Oppositions have respected a tacit agreement wherein all debates on the subject were carried out in a spirit of constructive criticism."

The statement says that contrary to Opposition claims that Government has no plan for this industry, the Ministry already stated it is continuing to follow the direction of the Tourism Policy for 2012-2016 and implement the existing policy, with additional emphasis on particular areas which were not given enough attention. These areas include achieving growth in the winter and shoulder months, opening new markets in the USA and China, facilitating Visa arrangements in markets whose growth potential is affected by such issues, and lower energy costs for more profitability in the sector. 

The Ministry says that negotiations with airlines have already resulted in a good increase in airline seat capacity for the coming Winter 2013/14 season. With regards to next summer, negotiations and discussions with existing and potential airline partners are taking place at this time of the year as normally happens.

"A proactive approach has also been taken by the Ministry and the MTA in the case of the cruise sector. The purpose of these discussions is to reverse decisions taken by the cruise companies two years ago, which led to MSC leaving Malta and Costa considering the reduction of its Malta operation."