Outbound travel up 30% in October

Outbound trips to EU destinations stood at 19,899, while Non-EU trips were estimated at 3,488. Trips towards EU and Non-EU destinations advanced by 34 and 38 per cent respectively, with Italy registering the largest increase. However, positive shifts were also noted in the British and French markets.

Male tourists comprised the majority of outbound trips and exceeded females by 66 per cent, while nearly half of these tourists fell within the 25-44 year old age bracket. Same-day visitors for October were calculated at 2,286, or 23 per cent less than 2009.

Between January-October 2010, outbound passengers throughout this ten-month period amounted to 239,010, up by 9 per cent over last year. The estimated number of outbound trips to EU countries was 203,690 and made up 85 per cent of the total. The most visited countries were Italy and the UK, whereas trips to Non-EU destinations increased by 8 per cent.

The largest proportion of outbound passengers were in the 25-44 age bracket, at 100,708, followed by the 45-64 age-group. Numbering 137,759, male tourists made up the majority of outbound passengers. The number of same-day visitors for this period was 27,001 - out of a total 266,011 outbound visitor trips.