Slight increase in tourism in September

Total inbound visitors for September were estimated at 194,189, an increase of 0.5 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 192,550.

A total of 169,108 inbound tourist trips were carried out for holiday purposes, while a further 11,867 were undertaken for business purposes. Inbound tourists from EU Member States went up by 2.4 per cent to 162,429 when compared to the corresponding month of 2014. 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 4.0 per cent when compared to September 2014, reaching 1.6 million nights. The largest share of guest nights (57.9 per cent) was spent in collective accommodation establishments.

Total tourist expenditure was estimated at €195.9 million, an increase of 5.2 per cent over the corresponding month of 2014.

Inbound tourist trips from January to September amounted to 1,409,119, an increase of 4.9 per cent over the same period in 2014.Total nights spent by inbound tourists went up by 4.4 per cent, reaching 11.3 million nights.

During January-September, total tourism expenditure was estimated at €1,318.0 million, 6.6 per cent higher than that recorded for 2014. Total expenditure per capita stood at €935, an increase of 1.5 per cent when compared to 2014.