English-language tourism down 8.4% over 2012

Foreign students attending English language courses at specialised schools declined by 8.4 per cent to 74,992 last year. The number of student weeks amounted to 233,834, up by 3.3 per cent over 2012.

Results showed that the majority of foreign students in Malta came from Italy, Russia and Germany. Together these markets constituted 47.6 per cent of total student visits.

The largest proportion of language students fell within the 18 to 25 age group and reached 21,958, or 29.3 per cent of the total. Students aged 50 and over were in a minority and numbered 4,126. Female students outnumbered males, and accounted for 58.9 per cent of the entire student visitors.

July was the busiest month for English language specialised schools with 19,829 students, or 26.4 per cent of the annual total. In contrast, December was the least busy, with little less than 1,000 student visits.

The absolute majority of students were Europeans (90.2 per cent). Of these, 49,804 were EU citizens, while 17,854 were from other European countries. The American and African markets experienced an increase over 2012 levels, while the number of Asian students declined.

Persons studying English as a foreign language amounted to 4.6 per cent of total foreign nationals visiting Malta during 2013. During July, 10.7 per cent of foreigners visiting Malta attended an English language course. Comparative information on foreign students and arrivals.

The total number of weeks spent by foreign students in Malta amounted to 233,834. The average duration per student stood at 3.1 weeks, up by 0.3 of a week over 2012. Increases were recorded in the number of weeks between January and July, and September, when compared to 2012 levels.

With an average of 14.5 weeks, students from the Republic of Korea had the highest average duration. These were followed by Libyan and Turkish students, with averages of 10.2 and 7.6 weeks respectively.

Last year, teaching staff in English language specialised schools numbered 1,469. Of these, 43.5 per cent were aged between 16 and 24. Female teaching personnel comprised 63.3 per cent of the total. The majority of teaching staff were employed on a part-time basis. Non-teaching staff amounted to 715, of which 59.0 per cent were employed on a full-time basis.