Let’s face it, one of the stiffest challenges faced by our tourism sector ever since it was born has been the so-called shoulder months. Although we get around 300 days of sunshine annually, the volume of incoming tourists has traditionally been uneven, rollercoasting between the seasons.

Clearly, seasonality does the sector no good. Prospective employees do not see tourism as a steady career path, operators struggle to plan, and the appetite for investment remains cautious. Needless to add, with the devasting effect of the pandemic on the sector these challenges have become more daunting than ever.

In this context, as the post-pandemic era unfolds, we have been training an even keener eye on the numbers and trends. As the tourism sector around the European continent and the world reboots, where do we stand today? More specifically, how do we fare during the cold, gray winter shoulder months?

January is perhaps as shoulder as it gets. It is a marker for what the future holds for the sector. So now that we have the smorgasbord of figures for this month in hand we can piece the scenario together - factually, dispassionately and with an eye to our positioning in the future.

That’s almost €100 million left in our economy in a single month

Without in any way engendering triumphalism or complacency, the facts about the industry’s performance tell a pretty encouraging and positive story. In fact, it is better than we expected.

Allow me to start with a simple key fact. In terms of the money tourists injected in our economy, January 2023 was the highest ever since statistics have been recorded. Not since 2019, which was a record year, but effectively the highest in our history. On its own this is already a pivotal fact. Digging deeper there is equal reason for optimism balanced with some pointers to what we need to work harder on.

Let’s look at the details and what they are telling us. In January of this year we welcomed 136,167 visitors, seven per cent more than in the same month in 2019, and the average length of stay increased by 6.1 per cent. Guest nights increased by 13.1 per cent and with the exception of the 65+ age group, all age brackets exceeded 2019 figures.

Crucially, the increase in spend over the same period hit 17 per cent. That’s almost €100 million left in our economy in a single month, a shoulder one. It is evident that our post-pandemic reboot is rock solid.

As the world let out a loud sigh of relief at the end of the pandemic, everyone rushed to the airport to catch a plane to somewhere. Obviously, this meant that the competition between countries to attract tourists became tougher. Consequently, recalibrating our focus to compare January this year with that of last year, tells us how we’re faring in this post-pandemic race. Again, the numbers are encouraging. Arrivals between the two months of January increased by a staggering 127.2 per cent. That is arrivals more than double in just one year.

Turning to our source markets, the overall performance remains encouraging. Again, comparing January this year with that of 2019, Italy ranked as the largest one with a share of 17.0 per cent while France, Italy and Poland exceeded the 2019 figures. Striking a sobering note, the German, UK and Spanish markets registered a decrease of 20.7 per cent, 17.1 per cent and 4.9 per cent respectively. Clearly, we need to take a closer look at this evolving scenario, tweaking and realigning our policies and act accordingly.

It is true that as a country we have a lot to offer by way of history, climate, the Mediterranean and our natural hospitality. Our pull is amply reflected in the numbers. Yet competition from near and far is constantly ramping up. For years we have been anticipating this and assiduously prepared for it. Again, the results strongly suggest that we are moving in the right direction. First time visitors this January were 13 per cent higher that those in the same month in 2019 and repeat visitors already reached 92 per cent of 2019 levels.

Facts are not opinions and I have tried to root every single word in the latter rather than the former. As always the facts speak for themselves. Does this mean that we’ll be resting on our laurels? Absolutely not. This sector thrives only if operators, public and private stakeholders continue to work and walk shoulder to shoulder.

Clayton Bartolo, Minister for Tourism.