Up to 85,000 English language students came to Malta last year, spending around €145 million collectively, Tourism Minister Karmenu Vella announced this morning.

Speaking during the FELTOM annual general meeting Mr Vella said that the government is pledging its full support to this sector.

Statistics show that one in eighteen tourists who visit Malta come to learn English. Malta is attracting an average of 82,000 English language students every year, amounting to 5.7% of the tourism sector. 2012 numbers had increased by 18.2% over the previous year. The majority of students are Italian, German and Russian.

Mr Vella said that although the official numbers for 2013 have not been published yet, the indications are that there was an increase over the previous year. Malta ‘potentially’ hosted around 85,000 students who spent €145 in Malta.

There are currently up to 40 English language schools in Malta. Collectively they pay more than €12 million in salaries annually.