Inbound tourists for the year of 2023 amounted to 2,975,670, an increase of 30.1 per cent over the same period in 2022, the NSO said Monday.
This breaks the record arrival of 2,771,888 tourists in 2019, the year which preceded the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Total nights spent by inbound tourists in 2023 went up by 21.9 per cent, surpassing 20.2 million nights, the NSO said.
Total tourist expenditure was estimated at €2.7 billion, 32.7 per cent higher than that recorded for 2022. Total expenditure per capita increased to €898 from €880 in 2022.
Taking December figures on their own, the NSO said that total inbound tourists for December 2023 were estimated at 159,029, an increase of 16.6 per cent when compared to the corresponding month in 2022.
During the month under review, a total of 144,301 inbound tourists visited Malta for holiday purposes, and 9,156 tourists came for business purposes. The largest share of inbound tourists were aged between 25 and 44 (42.1 per cent), followed by the 45-64 age bracket (32.1 per cent). British, Italian and Polish residents made up 45.4 per cent of total inbound tourist.
Total nights spent went up by 9.9 per cent when compared to December 2022, almost reaching 1.1 million nights. The largest share of guest nights (84.8 per cent) was spent in rented accommodation establishments. The average length of stay of total inbound tourists stood at 6.7 nights.
Total tourist expenditure almost reached €116.7 million, an increase of 15.0 per cent over the corresponding month in 2022. The average expenditure per night was estimated at €109.8.