In 2020, the total number of inbound and domestic tourists who visited the Gozo and Comino region amounted to 388,213, statistics issued by the National Statistics Office (NSO) show.
"Domestic tourists accounted for 89.8% of total tourism demand within this region."
In terms of the Malta region, the total number of inbound and domestic tourists amounted to 649,878, with inbound tourists accounting for 98.2% of total tourists visiting this region.
Domestic tourism comprises of the activities of a resident visitor within the country, i.e. Maltese residents visiting Gozo and Comino and vice versa and staying for not more than 12 consecutive months for personal, business or other purposes. Inbound tourism comprises of the activities of non-resident visitors travelling to the country.
During 2020, domestic tourism across regions (both the Malta region and the Gozo/Comino region) stood at 360,460 total arrivals, an increase of 51.9% when compared to 2019. Malta residents travelling to the Gozo and Comino region totalled 348,489, or 96.7% of total domestic tourists. Most of domestic tourists travelled for holiday purposes (79.8%) and spent between 1 and 3 nights (80.6%).
Domestic tourist nights totalled 1,064,868, an increase of 72.3% over 2019. Total expenditure by domestic tourists was estimated at €59.4 million, an increase of 51.1% when compared to the previous year. The average expenditure per capita stood at €165, a decrease of €1 over 2019.
"Significant increases have been noted in the domestic tourists and the number of nights spent during the summer months (June-September 2020) when compared to 2019 levels. This has been greatly attributed from the fact that residents in Malta preferred to travel to Gozo and Comino region due to Covid-19 related travel restrictions," the report read.
Domestic tourism to Gozo and Comino region
Domestic tourists to the Gozo and Comino region who stayed in rented accommodation amounted to 206,782, an increase of 40.7% over 2019.
Domestic tourism expenditure in Gozo and Comino region was estimated at almost €57.8 million, an increase of 61.2% over 2019.
Domestic tourism to Malta region
Gozo and Comino residents who travelled to the Malta region in 2020 as domestic tourists totalled 11,971, a decrease of 45.5% over 2019. In 2020, domestic tourism expenditure in Malta region was estimated at almost €1.6 million, a decrease of 53.6% over 2019.
Inbound tourism
In 2020, inbound tourists in the country decreased by 76.1%, reaching 658,567 tourists.
Total nights spent by inbound tourists to the country surpassed 5.2 million, a decrease of 73% over 2019. Inbound tourist nights in the Malta region accounted for 93.4% of the total, while the Gozo and Comino region accommodated 6.6% of the total nights. In 2020, total expenditure by inbound tourists to the country reached €455.1 million, an decrease of 79.5% over 2019.