Tourism expenditure in Malta last year increased by 7.5% over 2014 when the global average increase was 3.6%, the Tourism Ministry said today, quoting figures published by the National Statistics Office and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Barometer respectively.

Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis welcomed the results, saying that the increase in tourism expenditure locally was higher than that registered in the EU and in European and Mediterranean regions which Malta competed with.

The results, he said, were encouraging. Individual expenditure in Malta also increased at a higher rate to €918 per person. The EU and Mediterranean region average was €700.

Dr Zammit Lewis said these results were especially encouraging when seen in the context of Malta’s tourist arrivals record last year. All this confirmed that the government’s tourism policies were bearing fruit.

It also meant that the country was managing to attract a higher quality tourist. This, the minister said, encouraged the government to work strengthen the industry even further and, in turn, create more jobs, attract investment and improve the quality of life of the Maltese people.