Total inbound visitors for March were estimated at 115,519, an increase of 14.2 per cent when compared to the corresponding month of 2015.

Inbound Tourism: March 2016

A total of 94,328 inbound tourist trips were carried out for holiday purposes, while a further 10,292 were undertaken for business purposes. Inbound tourists from EU Member States went up by 15.2 per cent to 99,703 when compared to the corresponding month of 2015.

The largest proportion of inbound tourists was aged between 45 and 64, followed by those within the 25-44 age bracket.

Total nights spent went up by 11.6 per cent when compared to March 2015, amounting to 802,711 nights. The largest share of guest nights (70.9 per cent) was spent in collective accommodation establishments.

Total tourist expenditure was estimated at €86.3 million, an increase of 10.9 per cent over the corresponding month of 2015.

January-March 2016

Inbound tourist trips from January to March amounted to 281,341, an increase of 12.7 per cent over the same period in 2015. Total nights spent by inbound tourists went up by 10.4 per cent, surpassing 2.0 million nights.

Total tourism expenditure was estimated at €209.4 million, 9.3 per cent higher than that recorded for 2015. Total expenditure per capita stood at €744, a decrease of 3.0 per cent when compared to 2015.

Welcoming the statistics, Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis said that the last winter was the best in the last five years, and shows that the government's plans to diversify the tourism market are bearing fruit.