Tourism minister hails 'best September ever'

Tourism minister Edward Zammit Lewis welcomed the “encouraging” statistics and noted that last month was the best September ever recorded.

“This is a certificate that the country today is in a better place than it was 18 months ago and confirms the positive result registered in job creation and economic growth,” he said.

Total inbound tourist trips for September were estimated at 193,138, an increase of 9.3% when compared to the corresponding month last year.

Excluding the passengers who stayed overnight on board their berthed cruise ship, this increase amounted to 5.1%.

A total of 164,579 inbound visits were carried out for holiday purposes, while a further 12,739 were undertaken for business purposes. Inbound tourists from EU Member States went up by 7.5% to 158,545.

The largest proportion of inbound tourists were aged between 25 and 44, closely followed by those within the 45-64 age bracket.

Total nights spent went up by 6.1% when compared to September 2013, reaching 1,546,749 nights. The largest share of guest nights was spent in collective accommodation establishments.

Total tourist expenditure was estimated at €186.3 million, an increase of 8.8% over the corresponding month last year.

Inbound tourism from January to September amounted to 1,363,859, an increase of 9.0% over the same period in 2013. Total nights spent by inbound tourists went up by 5.0%, reaching 10.8 million nights.

During the period under review, total tourism expenditure was estimated at €1.2 billion, 6.8% higher than that recorded for the same period in 2013. Total per capita expenditure stood at €921, a decrease of 1.1% when compared to last year’s levels.