Almost 250,000 tourists visited Malta in August

Total inbound visitors for August were estimated at 248,284, an increase of 3.7 per cent when compared to the corresponding month of 2014. Excluding passengers who stayed overnight on board their berthed cruise ship, total inbound tourist trips amounted to 246,485.

A total of 220,776 inbound tourist trips were carried out for holiday purposes, while a further 5,682 were undertaken for business purposes. Inbound tourists from EU Member States went up by 6.0 per cent to 215,716 when compared to the corresponding month of 2014. The largest proportion of inbound tourists were aged between 25 and 44, followed by those within the 0-24 age bracket.

Total nights spent went up by 5.1 per cent when compared to August 2014, reaching nearly 2.4 million nights. The largest share of guest nights (54.1 per cent) was spent in collective accommodation establishments.

Total tourist expenditure was estimated at €276.2 million, an increase of 7.3 per cent over the corresponding month of 2014.

Inbound tourist trips from January to August amounted to 1,216,569, an increase of 5.1 per cent over the same period in 2014. Total nights spent by inbound tourists went up by 4.4 per cent, reaching nearly 9.7 million nights.

During January-August, total tourism expenditure was estimated at €1,122.1 million, 6.8 per cent higher than that recorded for 2014. Total expenditure per capita stood at €922, an increase of 1.5 per cent when compared to 2014.