More than a million tourists visited Malta in first four months of 2025
Tourism is booming and average spending per capita is also rising
Updated 12.30pm
Malta welcomed just over one million tourists in the first four months of 2025, surpassing what were record figures in 2024 by more than 17 per cent.
National Statistics Office released on Tuesday showed that total nights spent by inbound tourists between January and April was also up by a similar percentage.
Total tourist spending rose to reach €804.7 million, 24.2 per cent higher than that recorded for the same period in 2024. Expenditure per capita increased to €770 from €728 in 2024.
One in every two tourists (50.4%) who came to Malta visited Gozo or Comino, data showed.
April tourism figures
A total of 351,165 tourists visited Malta in April, an increase of 14.6 per cent compared to April 2024.
The National Statistics Office said 327,305 came to Malta on holiday and 16,586 for business.
The largest share of tourists consisted of persons aged between 25 and 44 (35.4 per cent), followed by the 45-64 age bracket (34.4 per cent).
Britons, Italians and Poles made up 46.4 per cent of arrivals.
Total nights spent went up by 19.7 per cent when compared to April 2024, surpassing 2.0 million nights. The largest share of guest nights (87.6 per cent) was spent in rented accommodation establishments. The average length of stay stood at 5.7 nights.
Tourist expenditure surpassed €296.2 million, an increase of 23.6 per cent over the corresponding month in 2024. The average expenditure per night was estimated at €147.5.
The number of tourists visiting Gozo and Comino, including both same-day and overnight visitors, totalled 194,126, or 55.3 per cent of total tourists.
Hotel performance largely unchanged
Separate to the NSO figures, a survey for the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association carried out by Deloitte also showed encouraging results for the sector.
The survey showed that the average daily spend was €127.87, a 7.4 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.
Hotel occupancy remained largely unchanged, with a few slight increases. Five-star hotel occupancy was at 52.5 per cent, marking a very slight increase compared to the year prior, Deloitte director David Delicata told a conference.
Four-star hotel occupancy was at 70 per cent, which is 3.1 percentage points higher than in 2024, while three-star hotel occupancy stood at 84 per cent, the same as the previous year.
There was also a slight increase in the average daily rates (ADR) spent at hotels. Five-star hotels recorded an ADR of €146.3, which is 5.6 per cent higher than last year.
Four-star hotels had an ADR of €66.1, marking a 7 per cent increase, while three-star hotels had an ADR of €44.7, which was marginally lower than in 2024.
Although spending increased, the average length of stay decreased slightly, by 2.5 per cent, reflecting a years-long trend.
MHRA’s deputy president George Micallef said hoteliers were concerned that 40 per cent of tourists are staying in short-term accommodation, rather than hotels.
Given this, he referred to Vision 2050 and questioned its claim to double the average daily spend to around €257 to €285.
"We have a substantial oversupply, and a substantial increase in short-term rentals, but we’re aiming to almost double the average daily spend to €257... The figures don't add up. We certainly need to discuss the oversupply of short-term rentals. This is a concern," Micallef said.