During the month under review, a total of 124,151 inbound tourists visited Malta for holiday purposes, and 7,764 tourists came for business purposes. The largest share of inbound tourists were aged between 25 and 44 (41.1 per cent), followed by the 45-64 age bracket (31.2 per cent) (Table 1). Italian, United Kingdom and Polish residents made up 42.2 per cent of total inbound tourists (Table 5).
Total nights spent went up by 79.0 per cent when compared to January 2022, surpassing 1.0 million nights. The largest share of guest nights (79.2 per cent) was spent in rented accommodation establishments (Table 3). The average length of stay of total inbound tourists stood at 7.6 nights (Table 1).
Total tourist expenditure surpassed €99.1 million, an increase of €52.2 million over the corresponding month in 2022 (Table 4). The average expenditure per night was estimated at €96.1 (Chart 2b).
Chart 1. Total Inbound tourists
January 2020 - January 2023
No Data Found
Chart 2a. Total expenditure per capita by inbound tourists
January 2023
No Data Found
Chart 2b. Total expenditure per night by inbound tourists
January 2023
No Data Found
Additional Tables and Charts
Methodological Notes
1. This release focuses on Inbound Tourism, which comprises activities of non-resident visitors travelling to Malta (i.e. outside their usual environment) and staying for not more than 12 consecutive months for leisure, business or other (corresponding) purposes.
2. Inbound tourism data are collected from an ongoing frontier national survey known as Tourstat. Tourist air departures are collected through a continuous survey carried out at the departure lounge of the Malta International Airport. A two-stage sampling design is used to collect data on air passengers. In the first stage, alternate days and nights are selected. In the second stage, within each shift, a sample of air passengers is selected systematically. Every crossing air passenger is counted and respondents are selected using a pre-defined interval of 1:20, with the exception of July 2020 and the period October 2020 to June 2021, where the pre-defined interval was 1:10.
3. Tourstat measures the number of tourist trips carried out during a particular reference month. These differ from the number of tourists in that the same person can make more than one trip during the same period.
4. Tourist sea departures is supplemented by administrative data provided by ferry operators.
5. Statistics in this News Release should be interpreted in the context of the COVID-19 situation. In view of the pandemic, the Tourstat survey was suspended between 12 March and 30 June 2020. Statistical methods were applied to cover the period from 13 March to 20 March 2020, when scheduled passenger flights were still in operation.
The following is the related chronology of events which happened during 2020 in Malta:
6. Owing to the UK’s exit from the European Union (with effect from 1 February 2020), UK data is statistically classified as Non-EU from February 2020. Comparability between cumulative tables and also between comparative periods should be treated with caution.
7. The monthly passenger departures data published by the Malta International Airport cannot be equated to the number of inbound tourists, because the former is inclusive of departing Maltese and transit passengers.
8. Data on cruise passengers who spent at least one night berthed on board their cruise ship in Malta (‘Overnight Cruise Passengers’) is compiled on the basis of administrative records supplied by Transport Malta.
9. Arrivals and nights spent in time-share accommodation are being categorised as ‘Non-rented Accommodation’ instead of ‘Collective Accommodation’ as per Eurostat’s recommendation. In this regard, there may be minor differences between these statistics and statistics published in tourism supply due to the fact that hotels report time-share accommodation under ‘Collective Accommodation’.
10. “Prior to comparing and interpreting differences between demand-side (based on Tourstat) and supply-side (based on Accomstat) tourism statistics, users are strongly advised to consult concept 15.4 of the NSO’s metadata file.
11. Data included in this release are based on sample data and are therefore subject to sampling error. Sampling error is measured by a quantity known as the margin of error, which in turn, expresses the variability between the true population parameters and their corresponding sample estimates. In the table below, the margin of error is used to construct a set of 95 per cent confidence intervals for the main indicators, which gives an indication of where the true population parameters lie.
Sampling variability of inbound tourism figures
| Estimate | Margin of error | 95% confidence interval | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inbound Tourists | 136,167 | 2,063 | 136,167 ± 2,063 |
| Total nights | 1,031,718 | 110,658 | 1,031,718 ± 110,658 |
| Total expenditure (€ 000) | 99,102 | 4,768 | 99,102 ± 4,768 |
12. Definitions:
● Usual environment: The geographical area, though not necessarily a contiguous one, within which an individual conducts his regular life routines and shall be determined on the basis of the following criteria: the crossing of administrative borders or the distance from the place of usual residence, the duration of visit, the frequency of visit, the purpose of visit.
● Resident: A person is considered to be a resident of Malta/Gozo if:
a. S/he has lived for most of the past 12 months in Malta/Gozo;
b. S/he has lived in Malta/Gozo for less than 12 months but intends to return within a year to settle here.
● Traveller: A person who moves between different geographic locations, for any purpose and any duration.
● Visitor: The three fundamental criteria used to distinguish visitors from travellers are:
a. The trip should be to a place other than that of the usual environment, which would exclude short-distance local transport and commuting, i.e. more or less regular trips between the place of work/study and the place of residence;
b. The stay in the place visited should not last more than twelve consecutive months, beyond which the visitor would become a resident of that place (from the statistical standpoint);
c. The main purpose of the visit should be other than the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited, which would exclude migratory movements for work purposes.
● Tourist: A visitor who stays at least one night in a rented and non-rented accommodation in the place/country visited.
● Inbound tourism: Comprises the activities of non-resident visitors travelling to Malta (i.e. outside their usual environment) and staying for not more than 12 consecutive months for personal, business or other purposes.
● Total nights spent: Nights which a guest actually spends or is registered to spend in a rented accommodation establishment or in a non-rented accommodation.
● Average length of stay: The number of nights spent divided by the number of trips during a specified reference period.
● Rented accommodation: Consists of the following two sub-categories:
a. Collective accommodation: comprises hotels, guesthouses, hostels, tourist villages, holiday complexes, Bed & Breakfast and campsites.
b. Other rented accommodation: comprises holiday furnished premises (farmhouses, flats and villas), host families, marinas, paid-convents, rented yachts and student dormitories.
● Non-rented accommodation: Comprises own private residence (owned dwellings, owned caravans and yachts), staying with friends or relatives (even if charged – includes also friends’ private apartments) and other private accommodation (oil rig, free-convents or timeshare, etc.).
● Total expenditure: Refers to the amount that is going to be paid for the acquisition of consumption goods and services, as well as valuables during tourism trips. It includes expenditures by visitors themselves, as well as expenses that are paid for or reimbursed by others. The total expenditure is broken down by the following expenditure items:
a. Package expenditure: refers to the whole amount of money spent on transport, accommodation and other services such as rental of a car, activities or outings during the trip.
b. Non-package expenditure: is the amount of money spent on transport and accommodation reported separately.
c. Other expenditure: is the amount spent on shopping, souvenirs, tickets for concerts or sports events, entrance to museums or zoos and day excursions during a tourism trip. It also includes durables and valuable goods, that is, the amount spent on cars, computers, paintings, jewellery and works of art.
13. More information relating to this news release may be accessed at:
Sources and methods
Statistical concepts
Metadata
Statistical database
14. References to this news release are to be cited appropriately.
15. For further assistance send your request through our online request from.
16. A detailed news release calendar is available online.
- Total inbound tourists for January 2023 were estimated at 136,167, while total nights spent amounted to 1,031,718, and total expenditure surpassed €99.1 million.
- The largest share of guest nights (79.2 per cent) was spent in rented accommodation establishments.
