Inbound tourists in December 2008 were estimated at 45,139, a decrease of 12.4 per cent when compared to the same month in 2007. Year on year, total nights spent increased by 16.5 per cent.

December 2008 – The Tourstat survey indicated that tourist departures in December 2008 were estimated at 45,139. The majority of tourists, or 44,102, came to Malta by air. The number of air tourists are estimated to have decreased by 12.9 per cent, while seaport tourism increased by 18.2 per cent. Results also show that 82.8 per cent of inbound tourists in December came to Malta on holiday, while a further 12.3 per cent visited the island for business purposes.

Meanwhile, total nights spent increased by 16.5 per cent when compared to the same month in 2007. More specifically, total nights spent in private accommodation increased by 53.7 per cent, while guest nights in collective accommodation increased by 6.4 per cent. Overall, the average length of stay is calculated at 10.1 nights, up by 2.5 nights when compared to December 2007.

January-December 2008 – Inbound tourists for 2008 are estimated at 1,290,856, an increase of 3.8 per cent over 2007. In absolute terms, the growth is mostly attributable to an increase in holiday visits, mainly from the Italian, German and Spanish markets. On the other hand, decreases were recorded in the British, American and Scandinavian markets.

87.9 per cent of all inbound visitors comprised tourists coming from EU Member States. For the period under review, an increase was registered among tourists who came to Malta on non-package holidays, while the number of tourists opting for a package trip decreased by 12.9 per cent. The largest proportion of inbound passengers were between 45-64, followed by those in the 25-44 age bracket. Having said this the biggest increase is attributable to the 0-24 age group.

During this period, total nights spent increased by 2.2 per cent when compared to 2007. Nights spent in private accommodation increased by 8.0 per cent, while guest nights in collective accommodation were virtually unchanged in percentage terms. With regard to the latter, guest nights in the 5-star and 4-star categories increased respectively by 4.6 and 0.2 per cent, while the 3-star category registered a drop of 12.6 per cent. For 2008, the average length of stay is calculated at 8.7 nights, down by 0.2 nights when compared to last year’s level.

In the period under review, total tourist expenditure is estimated at €1,041.2 million, a decrease of 1.6 per cent over total tourist expenditure for 2007. The growth in non-package expenditure was contrasted by a reduction in package and other expenditure.

The survey results indicate that the per capita total expenditure is estimated at €819, down by 5.8 per cent when compared to the annual figure for 2007.

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