COVID-19 killed August: tourism down by 66% in summer peak

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic was clear for all to see in what became the lightest season for tourism in Malta in decades in 2020.

Inbound tourism decreased in August with an estimated 114,458 tourist trips, down by 66.2% when compared to the same period last year, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said.

In 2019, 313,506 inbound tourist trips were carried out, an increase of 6.7% when compared to 2018.

With the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic raging across Europe and only a few countries allowed open passage to Malta, inbound tourists mainly hailed from the United Kingdom, with 21.7%.

The NSO that 107,908 inbound tourist trips were undertaken for holiday purposes, while a further 2,318 were made for business purposes.

The majority of inbound tourists were aged between 25 and 44, with 42.6%, followed by those within the zero to 24 age bracket with 36.4%.

When compared to August 2019, total nights spent were down by 62.5%, surpassing 1.0 million nights. The largest share of guest nights, 40.5% was spent in collective accommodation establishments.

Total tourist expenditure was estimated at €94.6 million, a decrease of 71.3% when compared to the same period last year.

Inbound tourist trips for the first eight months of 2020 amounted to 533,417, a decrease of 71.2% compared to the same period last year.

Total nights spent by inbound tourists reached nearly 4.0 million, a drop of 70.3% when compared to 2019.

Total tourism expenditure reached €353.0 million, also a 76.4% drop.