Tourism up one per cent in first six months

Tourism was up by 1.1 per cent in the first six months of the year compared to the same period last year, according to departure statistics released by the National Statistics Office.

The number of departures was 483,563, an increase of 5,390.

The number of British tourists, which accounted for 42.4 per cent of departures, increased by 1.7 per cent.

Other markets recording increases included Germany, Austria, Sweden, USA and a group of other markets.

French tourists, who accounted for 7.8 per cent, dropped by 4.6 per cent. Other declining markets included Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Russia and Libya.

Total expenditure by tourists between January and June went up by Lm0.9 million, even though per capita expenditure dipped to Lm174.9 from Lm176.7.

Expenditure on package tours was estimated at Lm80.5 million, a decrease of Lm 1.3 million. Non-package tourists spent Lm19.3 million on airfares and Lm12.7 million on accommodation thereby increasing total expenditure on non-package travel by approximately Lm 3.3 million or 11.3 per cent.

Other expenditure from package and non-package tourists slipped by Lm1.1 million to Lm 55 million in January-June 2005 compared to the same period last year.

The number of nights spent by tourists departing by air was 4,442,822, a decrease of 1.1 per cent over the same period last year. The number of nights spent in hotels increased by 0.8 per cent and accounted for 68.3 per cent of the total nights spent.

Tourists opting for Gozo as their main accommodation reached 16,643, an increase of 9.2 per cent.