MaltaMedia.com

The National Statistics Office has reported that the number of inbound tourists in November 2009 was estimated at 72,490. During the same period total nights spent stood at 558,384 nights.

In absolute terms, results show that the majority or 60,463 of tourists visited Malta for holiday purposes, while a further 9,069, came for business purposes. During November, first time visitors increased by 3.6 per cent, while repeat tourists registered a drop of 9.3 per cent.

Results show that the majority of inbound tourists reside in EU member states and amount to 87.8 per cent of the total. The number of Non-EU tourist was estimated at 8,851. Nearly all tourists travelled by air.

The total number of tourists residing in private accommodations increased to 14,994 while that in collective accommodations dropped to 57,496. Overall, 79.3 per cent of inbound tourists choose to reside in collective accommodation, while 20.7 per cent made use of private accommodation.

The average length of stay was calculated at 7.7 nights, up by 0.3 nights when compared to November 2008, and stood at 11.0 nights and 6.9 nights in private and collective accommodation establishments respectively.

From January to November 2009, inbound tourism for this period was estimated at 1,133,164, implying a decrease of 9.0 per cent over the corresponding period last year. In absolute terms, this change is mostly attributed to a decrease in holiday visits, mainly from the British, German and Scandinavian markets. On the other hand, increases were recorded in the Italian market.

In absolute terms, the majority of inbound tourists opted for non-package travel. During the reference period demand for both package and non-package trips decreased by 11.2 and 7.2 per cent respectively.

The largest proportion of inbound passengers were between 45 and 64 years old. These were closely followed by those within the 25-44 age bracket. Together, these two categories made up 72.7 per cent of total tourists.

Overall, the majority of tourists visiting Malta remain on the island for a period of at least seven night. Total nights spent over these eleven months decreased by 9.2 per cent when compared to the previous year. Guest nights in collective accommodation registered a drop of 12.5 per cent, while total nights in private accommodation remained relatively unchanged. The average length of stay was calculated at 8.5 nights, at par with 2008 levels.

Total tourist expenditure was estimated at €884.9 million, resulting in a decrease of 12.5 per cent in comparison to 2008. Decreases were recorded throughout all expenditure categories. These decreases may be related to a drop in the average per capita expenditure which fell to €798 (down by 3.5 per cent) when compared to 2008 levels.