The ongoing travel restrictions in many countries due to the Covid-19 pandemic was reflected in a decrease of 85% on 2019 in outbound tourists for the fourth quarter last year – with the number estimated at 29,080, the National Statistics Office said today.

From the total number, 18,614 outbound tourist trips were made for visiting relatives and friends, while a further 4,836 were for holidays.

The data shows that total nights spent by outbound tourists decreased by 66.2%, amounting to 427,576 nights. In absolute terms, the majority of guest nights (87.3%) were spent in non-rented accommodation establishments.

The NSO note that a general increase in the average length of stay was recorded, especially among tourists staying in non-rented accommodation.

Total estimated expenditure by outbound tourists between October and December decreased by 85.6% over the same quarter of 2019, and stood at €23.0 million, equivalent to an average €793 per person.

The NSO said that Italy remained the most popular destination, with a share of 32.1% of total tourist trips.

The total number of outbound tourist trips in 2020 stood at 196,508, a decrease of 72.2% over 2019. Total nights spent by outbound tourists went down by 64.1%, reaching nearly 1.7 million nights.

In addition, the NSO said that total estimated expense by resident tourists stood at €139.6 million, 77.0% lower than that recorded in 2019.

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