Tourstat survey data indicates tha t inbound tourists in May 2009 were estimated at 108,279, a decrease of 17.6% when compared to the corresponding month in 2008.
The majority, 98%, of tourists came to Malta by air. Results also show that an estimated 90,337, of tourists came on holiday, the majority from EU Member States. A further 11,164, visited for business purposes.
Meanwhile, total nights spent decreased by 18.2% when compared to the corresponding month in 2008. Total nights spent in private accommodation decreased by 2%, while guest nights in collective accommodation decreased by 22.4%. Overall, the average length of stay is calculated at 7.1 nights.
Inbound tourists for the first five months (January-May) are estimated at 383,915, a decrease of 14.3% over the corresponding period last year. In absolute terms, the change is mostly attributable to a decrease in holiday visits, mainly from the British, German and Spanish markets. On the other hand increases were recorded in the Italian, Libyan, and Swiss markets.
89.1% of all inbound visits comprised tourists coming from EU Member States. For the period under review, the majority of inbound tourists chose non-package travel, while the demand for package trips decreased by 11.8%. The largest proportion of inbound passengers were aged between 45 and 64, followed by those in the 25-44 age bracket. Together, these two categories made up 75% of total tourists.
During the same period, total nights spent decreased by 15% when compared to January-May 2008. Nights spent in private accommodation decreased by 4.8%, while guest nights in collective accommodation decreased by 17.9%. The average length of stay is calculated at 7.5 nights, a decrease of 0.1 nights over the estimates for 2008.
In the period under review, total tourist expenditure is estimated at €267.1 million, down by 12.8% when compared to 2008. Decreases were recorded throughout all expenditure categories.
The survey results indicate that per capita total expenditure is estimated at €711, an increase of 2.3% when compared to 2008 levels.
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