Just under 125,000 tourists holidayed in Malta in January, with both visitor numbers and total expenditure beating pre-pandemic levels. 

Figures released on Monday showed that 136,167 inbound tourists visited Malta in January. Of those, 124,151 came for holiday purposes while 7,764 visitors came for business purposes. They spent a combined total of just over one million nights in the country (1,031,718).

The vast majority of visitors – just over 100,000 – were visiting Malta for the first time.

Total tourist expenditure surpassed €99.1 million, with each tourist spending an average of €96.1 per night.

By comparison, in January 2019 Malta welcomed 127,723 tourists who spent a combined total of €84.7 million, or €92.8 each per night.

This January’s inbound tourism figures were also significantly improved over the numbers registered in the same month last year: total nights were up 79 per cent and total tourism expenditure was up by €52.2 million.

Visitors aged 25 to 44 made up the largest single share of inbound toiurists (41.1 per cent), followed by those in the 45-65 age bracket (31.2 per cent).

 Italian, United Kingdom and Polish residents made up 42.2 per cent of total inbound tourists, the NSO said.