Increased choice to travel to non-EU destinations among Maltese

Statistics issued by the National Statistics Office reveal that outbound trips during the month of July totalled 35,396 - an increase of 3.4% when compared to July 2011.

86% of outbound tourists travelled to EU destinations, while 14% chose a destination outside the European Union.

Supporting the trend, Italy and the UK continued to be the most popular destinations among Maltese tourists, with market shares of 29 and 22% respectively.

NSO said that almost all European markets recorded slight increases, with the exception of the British market. This decreased by 8%. In contrast, trips towards non-EU destinations increased by 46%- 1,619 - over last year.

As in previous years, the majority of outbound tourist trips were carried out by males and stood at 19,426 - 55% of the total. The largest proportion of outbound tourists fell in the 25-44 age bracket, followed by those in the 45-64 age category.

Outbound tourism throughout this seven-month period stood at 171,000, an increase of 3% when compared to the previous year. EU outbound trips registered downward changes and were estimated at 147,486, whereas trips to Non-EU destinations advanced by 30% to 23,514.

An estimated 86% of outbound tourists chose to visit EU destinations, with Italy and the UK prevailing as the most popular. Trips to Italy increased by 5%, while those to the UK dropped by 6%.

Most outbound tourists fell within the 25-44 year-old age group followed by the 45-64 age bracket. Male tourists stood at 99,230 - 58% of the total.

Out of 192,973 outbound visitor trips, same-day visitors were estimated at 21,973.