Tourism on the increase

Tourism seems to be picking up, with the number of visitors in January increasing by 10 per cent over the corresponding month last year, totalling 56,952, according to official data.

In the same period, total nights stood at 436,450, up by four per cent compared to January last year, the National Statistics Office said.

The trend carries on from December, when tourist arrivals also grew by 10.4 per cent, although arrivals for the whole of 2009 were down by over eight per cent.

Total expenditure in January was estimated at €42.1 million, up by 17 per cent from the same month in 2009, the statistics show.

Increases were also recorded in the package and other expenditure categories.

An estimated 48,375 tourists visited Malta for holidays, accounting for the absolute majority of arrivals, and another 6,780 came for business.

The majority of inbound tourists - 88 per cent - resided in the EU, predominantly the UK and Italy, while the number of non-EU tourists was estimated at 7,090.

First-time visitors made up the majority of inbound tourists with an estimated 60 per cent, marking an increase of 16 per cent when compared to the corresponding month in 2009.

Repeat tourists in January amounted to 34,387, with 8,065 visiting more than twice a year.

The NSO said the number of guest nights in collective accommodation increased while total nights in private accommodation went down, with the average length of stay calculated at 7.7 nights, down by 0.5 nights compared to January 2009.

The Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, Mario de Marco recently said that while tourism problems were continuing to persist, he was optimistic about 2010.

If last year's performance was compared to an average year, such as 2006 - and not the exceptionally successful 2008 - arrivals had increased by 56,000, he said.

Much of last year's drop in tourist arrivals was in the first half, with a gradual recovery first noted after June, and the figures turning into positive territory in December.

The sharp decline in arrivals in the first half of last year was caused by the fact that many companies called off conference and incentive travel because of the economic crisis while many families opted for a single holiday, dropping their winter trip.