The number of Maltese residents who went abroad in the first three months of this year dropped by 21.3% over the same period last year.

Malta suspended flights due to the COVID-19 outbreak in late March and the Nationali Statistics Office said the figures should be read in the light of this.

The majority of  the 115,573 trips were made for holidays - a total of 66,416 outbound trips - while a further 27,761 trips were made for visiting friends and family.

Italy and the United Kingdom remained the most popular destinations, with a joint share of 49.6% per cent of total tourist trips.

In absolute terms, the majority of guest nights (52%) were spent in rented accommodation establishments.

Total estimated expenditure by outbound tourists between January and March decreased by 27.9%  over the same quarter of 2019, and stood at €81.3 million, equivalent to an average €704 per person.

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