Inbound tourism up 27.5% in February

Inbound tourism was up by 27.5% in February this year, when compared to the same month in 2023.

According to the National Statistics Office, over 151,000 inbound tourists travelled to Malta on holiday, while over 10,000 travelled for business purposes.

Travellers aged between 25 and 44 made up the largest share of inbound tourists, followed by the 45-64 age group, at 35.5% and 33% respectively.

A large chunk of the tourists travelling to Malta were British, Italian and Polish. Indeed, these three nationalities made up 44.5% of total inbound tourists.

Tourists spent far more nights in Malta compared to February last year, with total nights spend up by 24%. Rented accommodation establishments were the accommodation of choice, with 84.4% of guest nights spent in these establishments.

Overall, the average length of stay for tourists was six nights.

Tourists spent big this year compared to 2023, with total tourist expenditure reaching almost €114.3 million, an increase of 31.5% over the corresponding month last year. The average amount of money spent per night was estimated at €112.9.

Moreover, 45.6% of tourists visited Gozo and Comino. This includes same-day and overnight visitors.

Inbound tourism for the first two months of 2024 went up by 26.9% over the same period in 2023, amounting to a total of 340,988 tourists. Total nights spent by inbound tourists increased by 9.4 per cent, surpassing 2.0 million nights.

Tourists spent an estimated €224.2 million, 20.5 per cent higher than that recorded for 2023. However, total expenditure per capita decreased to €657 from €692 in 2023.

The number of tourists visiting Gozo and Comino, including both same-day and overnight visitors, totalled 152,989, or 44.9 per cent of total tourists.