Departing tourists: July 2007
Inbound tourists in July are estimated to have increased by 12.1 per cent when compared to the same month in 2006. Year-on-year, total nights spent increased by 2.2 per cent, the National Statistics Office reported yesterday.
July 2007
According to the ongoing frontier survey, tourist departures in July are estimated at 147,700, an increase of 12.1 per cent over the same month in 2006. The increase reflects primarily a rise in holiday-makers, mainly from the British, Italian and French markets, contrasted with a decline in tourists from the Russian, Scandinavian and Belgian markets.
Total nights spent increased by 2.2 per cent when compared to the same month in 2006. Year-on-year, total nights spent in private and collective accommodation increased, by 0.7 and 2.9 per cent respectively. Overall, the average length of stay is calculated at 9.7 nights, shorter by 0.9 nights when compared to July 2006.
January-July 2007
Inbound tourists for the first seven months of the year are estimated at 649,502, an increase of 7.6 per cent over the corresponding period a year ago. The growth was primarily attributable to an increase in holiday visits, mainly from the British, Scandinavian, Irish and Italian markets. Decreases were recorded in respect of the French, Austrian, German and Dutch markets.
86.7 per cent of all inbound visits comprised tourists coming from EU member states. Although there was an increase in repeat tourism, the data show that the overall increase was primarily characterised by a rise in first-time visits, the latter estimated to account for 67.2 per cent of the total. The largest age bracket comprised tourists aged between 45 and 64 years, albeit the biggest increase is attributable to tourists aged 24 years and under.
Total nights spent decreased by 2.1 per cent when compared to the same period in 2006, implying shorter stays. Total nights spent in private accommodation went down by 8.2 per cent, while those in collective accommodation remained almost unchanged. Tourist nights in rented and owner-occupied accommodation decreased by 15.3 and 9.3 per cent respectively, while those spent in lodgings with family and friends increased by 4.6 per cent.
With regard to total nights in collective accommodation, there was a significant decrease in the three-star category contrasted with an increase in the five-star category. The average length of stay is calculated at 8.6 nights, down by 0.9 nights when compared to last year’s level.
During the period under review, total tourist expenditure is estimated at Lm232.7 million, an increase of 4.3 per cent over the same period in 2006. The increase was underpinned by higher non-package and other expenditure. Although the majority are still opting for package travel, direct bookings and non-package stays are exhibiting an increasing trend.
The survey results indicate that the per capita total expenditure is estimated at Lm367, down by 2.2 per cent when compared to the same period in the previous year.