Extraordinary +24% growth in total inbound visitors in November

According to NSO data published yesterday, double digit growth rates were registered in all the three main inbound tourism performance indicators during November 2016, with the total number of visitors recording the highest growth rate of +24.0%, followed by a +14.2% increase total nights spent and a +12.9% increase in total expenditure by inbound tourists.

Total inbound visitors in November 2016 reached a record high of 142,711, 27,606 more visitors over the same month last year. Total inbound tourists (excluding cruise passengers spending overnights in Malta) amounted to 140,404, increasing by 24.2%.

The number of nights spent by tourists reached 958,342 representing an increment of 119,359 nights. The average length of stay declined marginally from 7.4 nights in November 2015 to 6.8 nights in November 2016. Inbound tourists spent a total of €101.7 million, €11.6 million more than in November 2015.

Cumulative data for the period January to November 2016 point to healthy inbound tourism results, with the number of inbound tourists increasing by 9.4% over the same period last year. The number of inbound tourists exceeded the 1.8 million mark during the period January to November 2016. The number of nights stayed by tourists reached 14.3 million, recording an increase of 5.5%. Growth was registered by both collective and private type accommodation establishments. The tourist expenditure figure features an increase of 3.9%, reaching €1.65 billion, €61.3 million more over the same period last year.

Additional tourist volumes were generated by the majority of source markets. The United Kingdom registered the largest absolute increase of 28,588 more tourists compared to same period last year, followed by Italy (+27,863), Germany (+14,611) and France (+13,953).