Updated 7.58pm
An estimated two million people are expected to have visited Malta throughout 2022, tourism authority CEO Carlo Micallef told a conference on Tuesday.
The figure translates to 77 per cent of the pre-pandemic 2019 figures, Micallef said.
Air seat capacity is also back to 78 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, with seat capacities from 18 countries - among them Poland, France, Bulgaria, Italy and the Netherlands - close to, or even exceeding 2019 capacity levels.
And according to the latest data collected from airline websites, air seat capacity for the upcoming winter season is at 91 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, with the estimated number of inbound tourists reaching 1,240,000 between November and March, both months included.
Reaching the two million annual total is likely to be considered a success by the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA), given that back in May the authority had said that its target was to draw 1.8 million tourists to the island this year.
That figure would be equivalent to tourist arrivals in 2015.
In 2021 - a year racked by COVID-induced travel disruptions - Malta received just under one million tourists, while in 2020 it welcomed even fewer, at under 800,000.
Tourism this year so far
Malta’s biggest source markets between January and July this year so far included the UK (221,108 tourists – 62 per cent of 2019), Italy (190,945 – 88 per cent of 2019), France (137,294 – 106 per cent of 2019), Germany (87,454 – 74 per cent of 2019) and Poland (78,190 – 132 per cent of 2019).
Micallef was addressing a conference organised by the Malta Chamber on the occasion of World Tourism Day.
Micallef noted that while focusing on recovering from the pandemic's blow, Malta was simultaneously "rethinking" and "revitalising" the industry.
Malta’s tourism sector was operating in highly competitive times, however, the island had managed to grow tourism numbers, widen its touristic season, diversify its geographic source markets, expand age demographics and tap into an expanding range of reasons why tourists visit the islands, he said.
"The last two years have not only convinced everyone of the importance and relevance of tourism but have also raised awareness on how important it is to place rethinking and revitalising topmost in our modus operandi,” Micallef added.
Chamber CEO Marthese Portelli outlined a number of points requiring immediate government action to improve Malta's tourism sector, from revisiting classification regimes for tourist accommodation to stopping direct competition from the state regulator.
Other speakers included Chamber president Marisa Xuereb, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo, PN Tourism spokesperson Robert Arrigo and Chamber tourism operators business section chair Alan Arrigo.