Inbound tourists increase by 7.6% over September 2012

Total inbound visitors during September were estimated at 176,781. Excluding the 411 passengers who stayed overnight on board a berthed cruise vessel, 176,370 were departing tourists - an increase of 8 per cent when compared to 2012 levels.

Estimates show that the absolute majority of departing tourists, or 154,434, visited Malta for holiday purposes, while another 11,176 trips were undertaken for business purposes.

First-time visitors advanced by 10 per cent over 2012. Inbound tourism from EU Member States rose by 5 per cent, making up 84 per cent of departing tourists. Meanwhile, Non-EU tourists increased by 24 per cent to 28,855.

The UK remained Malta's main tourism market, with a share of 28 per cent of total inbound trips, and was followed by Italy at 14 per cent. Upward shifts of 18 and 11 per cent were noted in the Italian and German markets respectively.

Total nights spent during the month under review increased by 6 per cent and stood at 1.5 million. This shift was mainly attributed to an increase of 19 per cent in the number of nights spent in private accommodation, including time-share. The average length of stay stood at 8.3 nights, slightly down by 0.1 of a night when compared to September last year.

Total expenditure of departing tourists was estimated at €171.2 million, a growth of 3 per cent over the corresponding month in 2012.

January-September 2013

The total number of departing tourists who visited Malta during this nine-month period was estimated at 1,243,573, an increase of 9 per cent over the comparable period in 2012. In absolute terms, the main origin of inbound tourists remained the British market. However, a significant increase was recorded in the Libyan, Austrian, Russian and Italian markets.

On the other hand, the Spanish market recorded a drop of 13 per cent when compared to last year.

The majority of departing tourists were holidaymakers, predominantly from the European Union. However, an increase of 20 per cent was registered in tourists from Non-EU countries. Non-package travel was higher than package travel, with an estimated 53 per cent of the total. Nonetheless, inbound tourists opting for package travel advanced by 6 per cent when compared to 2012. Total nights spent during this period were estimated at 10.3 million - up by 9 per cent over last year. The average length of stay stood at 8.3 nights, at par with last year.

During the same period, total tourist expenditure was estimated at €1.2 billion, up by 8 per cent when compared to 2012 levels. Increases were recorded throughout all expenditure categories. The total per capita expenditure stood at €931.