Inbound tourism surges during first three months of 2018

Inbound tourist trips for the first three months of 2018 reached 414,400, an increase of 18.8% over the same period in 2017.

The latest NSO statistics reveal that in March, Malta saw a surge of tourists, with an estimated total of 167,197 inbound tourists, an increase of 18.4% when compared to the same month in 2017.

A total of 137,504 inbound tourist trips were carried out for holiday purposes, while a further 15,673 were undertaken for business purposes. Inbound tourists from EU Member States went up by 17.3% to 144,345 when compared to the corresponding month in 2017.

Most inbound tourists were aged between 25 and 44, followed by those within the 45-64 age bracket. 24,597 tourists were over 65, while nearly 30,000 were under 25, increasing by 37.7% from 2017.

Most tourists arrived to Malta by plane, with 164,334 tourists choosing to fly, while only 2,863 arrived by sea.

Total nights spent went up by 26.9% when compared to March 2017, reaching nearly 1.1 million nights. Most tourists spent seven nights or more in Malta. Between January and March, the total nights spent by inbound tourists also went up by 18.4%, reaching nearly 2.7 million nights.

Total tourist expenditure was estimated at €116.0 million, an increase of 20.2% over the corresponding month in 2017.

Total tourism expenditure for the first three months of the year reached nearly €271.5 million, 14.4% higher than that recorded for 2017. Total expenditure per capita stood at €655, a decrease of 3.7% when compared to 2017.