The number of Maltese residents who travelled abroad this summer increased by 10 per cent over the same period last year, according to national data.

The National Statistics Office said on Thursday that the total nights they spent abroad meanwhile increased by 3.6 per cent.

During the quarter under review, a total of 196,271 outbound tourist trips were undertaken for holiday purposes, followed by 44,598 trips for visiting friends and relatives.

Most outbound tourists were aged between 25 and 44 (44.9 per cent), followed by those within the 45 to 64 age bracket (26.6 per cent).

Outbound tourists towards EU and non-EU countries increased by 11.6 and 4.4 per cent respectively, when compared to the same quarter of 2023.

Italy remained the most popular destination, with a share of 44.1 per cent of total tourist trips.

The total nights spent by outbound tourists in the third quarter of 2024 almost reached 1.9 million nights.

The largest share of guest nights (57.3 per cent) was spent in rented accommodation establishments. Meanwhile, the average length of stay of total outbound tourists stood at 6.9 nights.

The total estimated expenditure by outbound tourists between July and September stood at €267.5 million, equivalent to an average of €979 per capita.

January to September 2024

The total outbound tourist trips in the first three quarters of 2024 numbered 641,480- an increase of 7.7 per cent over the same period in 2023.

Meanwhile, the total nights spent by outbound tourists went up by 3.4 per cent, almost reaching 4.3 million nights.

In addition, the total estimated outlay by resident tourists stood at €597.4 million - 10.9 per cent higher than that recorded for the same period in 2023.