Tourist numbers rise in April, NSO says

Total inbound visitors in Malta were estimated at 244,372 in April, an increase of 4.2% when compared to the corresponding month in 2018, as the Malta National Security Office (NSO) press release says.

Inbound tourists from European Union member states amounted to 210,579 in April, up by 1.8% when compared to the corresponding month in 2018. Most of the tourists were aged between 25 and 44 (37.2%), followed by those within the 45-64 age bracket (32.1%).

Total nights spent went up by 2.6% when compared to April 2018, surpassing 1.5 million nights. The largest share of guest nights (58%) was spent in collective accommodation establishments.

The total tourist expenditure was estimated at €172.2m, with an increase of 7.7% over April 2018.

For the Q1 2019, inbound tourist trips amounted to 667,905, showing an increase of 3.1% over the Q1 2018. Total nights spent by inbound tourists went up by 3.7%, surpassing 4.3 million nights, according to the NSO press release.

Total tourism expenditure was estimated at €444.5m, 3.1% higher than that recorded for 2018. Total expenditure per capita stood at €666, at par with the same period of 2018.

The full report including charts and visual representation of data is available for download at the website of NSO.

Nevertheless, the number of total guests and nights spent in collective accommodation establishments in Malta decreased by 6.4% and 8.2%, respectively, during the first quarter of 2019 compared to the corresponding quarter in 2018.