9. 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 and 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 12 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 trips: trips with at least one overnight stay in either rented or non-rented accommodation in the place/country visited.

●  Total nights spent: nights which a guest actually spends or is registered to spend in a rented accommodation or in a non-rented accommodation.

●  Average length of stay: the number of nights spent divided by the number of tourists 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 establishments 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. Maltese residents are asked to budget the expenditures which they are about to incur when travelling abroad. The total expenditure is broken down by the following expenditure categories:

a. Package expenditure: 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: the amount of money spent on transport and accommodation reported separately;

c. Other expenditure: the amount spent on shopping, souvenirs, tickets for concerts or sport 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.

10. More information relating to this news release may be accessed at:

Sources and methods

Statistical concepts 

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