Updated 12.50pm with comments by MTA officials.
A total of 2.28 million tourists visited Malta last year, which was above the two million projection by the Tourism Authority but still down on the 2019 pre-COVID peak of 2,771,888.
Official figures issued by the National Statistics Office show that while tourist expenditure was estimated at €2.0 billion last year, tourist spending per capita, at €880, was down from €899 in 2021.
Total tourist nights last year reached 16.6 million, twice the 8,389,545 tourist nights of 2021 but below the total of 19,338,860 in 2019.
The NSO also issued data of arrivals for December 2022 showing 136,423 tourists. Visitors from the United Kingdom, Italy and France formed the bulk of arrivals at 49%.
Total nights spent went up by 24.8 per cent when compared to December 2021, surpassing 900,000 nights. The largest share of guest nights (83.3 per cent) was spent in rented accommodation establishments. The average length of stay of total inbound tourists stood at 7.1 nights.
Total tourist expenditure surpassed €101.5 million, an increase of 85.0 per cent over the corresponding month in 2021. The average expenditure per night was estimated at €105.0.
A remarkable recovery, slightly above the European average
In a reaction to the figures, Leslie Vella, deputy CEO of the Malta Tourism Authority said that Malta had made a “remarkable recovery” following the impact of the pandemic that ground tourism to a near halt in 2020 and 2021.
Figures showed that worldwide there was a 63% recovery in 2022 over the 2019 tourism figures, he told the media.
At the European level there was a 79% recovery which rose to 82% in the Southern Mediterranean Europe. Malta's recovery was 84%.
“We are very much in line with what is happening in Europe and the Mediterranean and marginally out-performing… especially when keeping in mind what we are a destination what is heavily dependent on air traffic,” he said, stressing on the importance of airport connectivity.
2022 saw an 86% recovery in nights spent from 19.3 million in 2019 to 16.6 million in 2022.
A look at total tourism expenditure showed a 91% recovery compared to the 2019 figures. Figures for 2019 showed a total expenditure of €2.2 billion (or €807 per capita/€115 per day). This dropped to €2 billion in 2022 (or €880 per capita/€112 per day). The figure was a big leap from the €870 million expenditure in 2021 which translated in €899 per capita or €104 per night.
In 2022 many tourists travelled closer to home for safety and proximity. As always, most tourists were from the UK and Italy and an increase was seen in tourists from France and Poland, Vella said.
The year ahead
Carlo Micallef, chief executive of the MTA, gave a glimpse of the year ahead. He said that there will be a 97% increase in seat capacity this summer over 2021 and “bookings are already coming in strongly”.
The MTA is planning to continue marketing the island and will be bringing in 150 content creators from all over Europe and beyond.
He said one of the major cruise lines will be christening a new ship in Malta this year, bringing hundreds of international tour operators who will promote Malta.
Also being planned is a very rich programme of events and festivals that include the International Fireworks Festival, the Robbie Williams concert, Isle of MTV, the Nickelodeon Treasure Hunt, The Malta International Airshow and Europride apart from large events such as Sigma.
The MTA is also promoting the Maltese island as a destination for Faith tourism, he said. Other niches included sport, film and cuisine tourism.