Inbound tourists in November 2008 were estimated at 73,608, a decrease of 10.8 per cent when compared to the same month in 2007. Year on year, total nights spent decreased by 14.6 per cent.

November 2008 - The TOURSTAT survey indicated that tourist departures in November were estimated at 73,608, implying a decrease of 10.8 per cent over the same month in 2007. The majority, or 72,559 of tourists, came to Malta by air. There was a decrease of 11.3 per cent in the number of air passengers when compared to November 2007. Results also show that 78.7 per cent of inbound tourists in November came to Malta on holiday, while a further 15.8 per cent visited the island for business purposes.

Meanwhile, total nights spent decreased by 14.6 per cent when compared to the same month in 2007. Year on year, total nights spent in private accommodation increased by 21.1 per cent, while guest nights in collective accommodation registered a drop of 23.5 per cent. Overall, the average length of stay is calculated at 7.3 nights, down by 0.4 nights when compared to November 2007.

January-November 2008 - Inbound tourists for the past eleven months are estimated at 1,245,717, implying an increase of 4.5 per cent over the corresponding period a year ago. 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.

88.0 per cent of all inbound visits comprised tourists coming from EU Member States. For the period under review, the main increase was registered among tourists having non-package holidays. On the other hand, the number of tourists having a package holiday decreased by 12.8 per cent. The largest age bracket comprised tourists aged 45 and 64, followed by those in the 25 to 44 age bracket, albeit the largest increase can be attributed to the 0 to 24 age bracket.

Total nights spent increased by 1.7 per cent when compared to the same period in 2007. Nights spent in private accommodation increased by 6.7 per cent, while guest nights in collective accommodation registered a marginal drop. With regards to hotel accommodation, guest nights in the 5- and 4-star categories increased respectively by 4.8 and 0.2 per cent, while the 3-star category registered a drop of 13.5 per cent. 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 €1,011.2 million, resulting in a decrease of 1.5 per cent over the same period last year. 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 €824, down by 6.3 per cent when compared to the corresponding period last year.