Malta's tourist arrivals in February stayed at pre-COVID levels, official figures issued on Thursday show.

Arrivals reached 132,513, well above last year's, but below the 145,821 visitors in February 2020, the last full month before the pandemic struck. 

In contrast, competing destination Cyprus said it received 119,081 visitors in February 2023, compared to 105,592 in February 2020. Arrivals in Spain, however, were below the February 2020 level.

In a statement on Thursday, the National Statistics Office said the largest share of inbound tourists were aged between 25 and 44 (36.7 per cent), followed by the 45-64 age bracket (33.3 per cent).

British, Italian and French residents made up 44 per cent of total inbound tourists.

Total tourist nights went up by 57 per cent compared to February 2022, surpassing 800,000 nights. The largest share of guest nights (86.3 per cent) was spent in rented accommodation establishments. The average length of stay was 6.2 nights.

Tourist expenditure surpassed €86.9 million, an increase of €47 million over the corresponding month in 2022. The average expenditure per night was estimated at €106.50. 

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