Tourist arrivals in the first four months of the year rose by a quarter over the same period last year, with growth of 14.8% in April alone, the National Statistics Office said.

Total inbound tourists in April were estimated at 306,279.

A total of 281,665 tourists visited Malta on holiday and 16,800 came for business purposes in April. The largest share of tourists were aged between 25 and 44 (35.1 per cent), followed by the 45-64 age bracket (32.1 per cent).

British, Italian and French tourists made up 48.5 per cent of visitors.

Total nights spent went up by 3.8 per cent compared to April 2023, almost reaching 1.7 million nights. The largest share of guest nights (88 per cent) was spent in rented accommodation establishments. The average length of stay of total inbound tourists stood at 5.5 nights.

Total tourist expenditure reached €239.6 million, an increase of 19.7 per cent over the corresponding month in 2023. Average expenditure per night was estimated at €142.90.

The number of tourists visiting Gozo and Comino, including both same-day and overnight visitors, totalled 159,391, or 52 per cent of total tourists.

January-April 2024

Inbound tourists for the first four months of 2024 amounted to 888,118, an increase of 25.1 per cent over the same period in 2023. Total nights spent by inbound tourists went up by 12.7 per cent, almost reaching 5.1 million nights.

Total tourist expenditure was estimated at €646.8 million, 26.2 per cent higher than that recorded for the same period in 2023, the NSO said.

Total expenditure per capita increased to €728 from €722 for the same period in 2023.