MaltaMedia.com

Inbound tourists for the month of November 2008 dropped by 10.8 per cent when compared to the same month in 2007, the National Statistics Office said.

The ‘tourstat’ survey indicated that tourist departures in November were estimated at 73,608, implying a drop of 10.8 per cent over the same month in 2007. The majority of tourists came to Malta by air.

There was a drop of 11.3 per cent in the number of air passengers when compared to November 2007.

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 dropped by 14.6 per cent when compared to the same month in 2007.

However, the 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.

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

The growth is mostly attributable to an increase in holiday visits, mainly from the Italian, German and Spanish markets.

On the other hand a drop was registered in the British, American and Scandinavian markets.

88.0 per cent of all inbound visits comprised tourists coming from EU Member States.

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 dropped 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 was calculated at 8.7 nights, down by 0.2 nights when compared to last year’s level.

The total tourist expenditure is estimated at €1,011.2 million, resulting in a drop of 1.5 per cent over the same period last year.