NSO Malta | Regional Tourism: 2023

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Regional Tourism: 2023

NR 136/2024

Release Date: 24 July 2024

The total number of inbound and domestic tourists who visited the Gozo and Comino region during 2023 amounted to 564,396 and reached 2,942,836 for the Malta region.

Overview

In 2023, the total number of inbound and domestic tourists who visited the Gozo and Comino region amounted to 564,396 (Tables 1 and 6). Domestic tourists accounted for 71.9 per cent of total tourism demand within this region. The total number of inbound and domestic tourists who visited the Malta region reached 2.9 million, with inbound tourists accounting for 98.4 per cent of total tourists visiting this region (Charts 1a).

Chart 1a. Domestic and inbound tourists
by region

Chart 1b. Nights spent by domestic and inbound tourists by region

2.9 million

0.6 million

19.3 million

2.1 million

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Domestic tourism

During 2023, domestic tourism across regions stood at 454,495 total arrivals, an increase of 23.2 per cent when compared to 2022. Malta residents travelling to Gozo and Comino region totalled 406,018, or 89.3 per cent of total domestic tourists. Most of domestic tourists travelled for holiday purposes (75.8 per cent) and spent between 1 and 3 nights (83.7 per cent) (Table 1). The average length of stay decreased from 2.7 to 2.4 compared with 2022 levels (Table 1). Domestic tourist nights totalled 1,105,685, an increase of 10.9 per cent over 2022 (Table 3). Total expenditure by domestic tourists was estimated at €74.8 million, an increase of 17.9 per cent when compared to the previous year (Table 4). The average expenditure per capita stood at €164.8, a decrease of €7.1 over 2022 (Table 5).

Chart 2a. Domestic tourism by region

Chart 2b. Nights spent by domestic tourists by region

Chart 3. Total guests and nights spent by domestic tourists

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Domestic tourism to Gozo and Comino region

Domestic tourists to Gozo and Comino region, who stayed in rented accommodation amounted to 244,697, an increase of 23.1 per cent over 2022. More than half of the domestic stays in rented accommodation (60.3 per cent) were in other rented accommodation establishments (Table 2).

The majority of domestic tourist nights (63.4 per cent) were in rented accommodation, of which 68.2 per cent were spent in other rented accommodation (Table 3).

Domestic tourism expenditure in Gozo and Comino region was estimated at almost €67.8 million, an increase of 17.3 per cent over 2022 (Table 4).

Domestic tourism to Malta region

Gozo and Comino residents who travelled to Malta region in 2023 as domestic tourists increased significantly from 37,545 in 2022 to 48,478 in 2023, an increase of 29.1 per cent (Table 1).

Slightly more than half (58.7 per cent) of domestic tourism nights by Gozo and Comino residents who travelled to Malta region were spent in non-rented accommodation (Table 3). In 2023, domestic tourism expenditure in Malta region was estimated at €7.0 million, an increase of €1.4 million over 2022 (Table 4).

Inbound tourism

In 2023, inbound tourists in MALTA increased by 0.7 million, reaching 2,975,670 tourists. Single centre destination inbound tourism accounted for the majority of the trips (97.4 per cent) and the rest being twin centre destination trips (Table 6 and Chart 4).

Total nights spent by inbound tourists to MALTA surpassed 20.2 million, an increase of 21.9 per cent over 2022. Nights spent by single centre inbound tourists accounted for 96.1 per cent of total nights spent in MALTA. The remaining were nights spent on twin centre destination trips. Inbound tourist nights in the Malta region accounted for 94.7 per cent of the total, while the Gozo and Comino region accommodated 5.3 per cent of the total nights (Table 6).

In 2023, total expenditure by inbound tourists to MALTA reached almost €2.7 billion. Expenditure by inbound tourists on single centre destination trips accounted for 96.7 per cent of total (Table 12).

Chart 4. Inbound tourists by itinerary, region and year

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Single centre destination trips: Malta region

In 2023, inbound tourists to Malta region as a single centre destination reached 2,817,292 tourists. Most of the inbound tourists were aged between 25 and 44 (39.0 per cent) and came from EU Member States (68.1 per cent) with the strongest market being Italy (18.9 per cent). More than half of the single centre inbound tourists (61.6 per cent) travelled by low-cost airlines and 36.4 per cent by other airlines. First-time tourists accounted for 78.0 per cent (Table 7).

The majority of single centre inbound tourists to Malta region, stayed in collective accommodation (64.3 per cent). Nights spent by inbound tourists to Malta region as a single centre destination went up when compared to 2022, almost reaching 18.7 million nights (Tables 10 and 11).

Total expenditure by inbound tourists to Malta as single centre destination surpassed €2.5 billion (Table 12).

Single centre destination trips: Gozo and Comino region

Inbound tourists who visited Gozo and Comino region as a single centre destination amounted to 81,312, an increase of 25.7 per cent compared 2022. The majority came from EU Member States (56.1 per cent), despite the United Kingdom being the strongest market (30.2 per cent). Most were aged between 25 and 44 (35.6 per cent). Non-package trips accounted for 85.2 per cent of inbound tourists to Gozo and Comino region. More than half of the single centre inbound tourists to Gozo and Comino region, travelled by low-cost airlines (57.6 per cent) (Table 8).

In contrast to single centre Malta region, the majority of single centre tourists to Gozo and Comino region, 46.3 per cent, stayed in other rented accommodation. Nights spent by inbound tourists to Gozo and Comino region on single centre trips amounted to 760,779 nights (Tables 10 and 11). In 2023, the average length of stay of single centre inbound tourists to Gozo and Comino region decreased by 0.6 nights from 9.9 nights to 9.4 nights (Table 8).

Expenditure by inbound tourists to Gozo and Comino region as single centre destination was estimated at €82.3 million in 2023, an increase compared to previous year (Table 12).

Twin centre destination trips

In 2023, inbound tourists who visited Malta and Gozo and Comino regions as twin centre destination totalled 77,066. The largest share of twin centre inbound tourists were in the 25-44 age bracket (39.8 per cent). The majority of inbound tourists on twin centre trips were first-time tourists (79.3 per cent) and came from EU Member States (70.0 per cent) with the strongest markets being France (18.8 per cent). The United Kingdom was also a strong market (15.6 per cent). More than half of the twin centre inbound tourists travelled by low-cost airlines (54.9 per cent) (Table 9).

A high proportion of twin centre tourists stayed in rented accommodation (91.2 per cent). Total nights spent by twin centre tourists increased, amounting to 784,699 nights. The majority of inbound twin centre tourist nights, 45.7 per cent, were spent in other rented accommodation, followed by 37.8 per cent in collective accommodation (Tables 10 and 11). In 2023, the average length of stay of inbound tourists visiting both regions stood at 10.2 nights, a decrease of 0.3 nights compared to 2022 (Table 9).

Total expenditure spent by twin centre tourists was estimated at €88.4 million in 2023. All expenditure categories registered significant increases over 2022 (Table 12).

Chart 5. Nights spent by Malta residents in Gozo/Comino region by type of accommodation in 2023

Chart 6. Nights spent by Gozo/Comino residents in Malta region by type of accommodation in 2023

Chart 7. Expenditure per capita by domestic tourists by region of destination and expenditure category

Reference year: 2023

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Tables

Table 1. Profile of domestic tourists

Table 2. Domestic tourists by year, region of destination and type of accommodation

Table 3. Total nights spent by domestic tourists by year, region of destination and type of accommodation

Table 4. Total expenditure by domestic tourists by year, region of destination and expenditure category

Table 5. Average expenditure by year per capita and per night by domestic tourists and expenditure category

Table 6. General overview of inbound tourism to MALTA by year, itinerary and region

Table 7. Profile of inbound single centre destination tourists to Malta region by year

Table 8. Profile of inbound single centre destination tourists to Gozo and Comino region by year

Table 9. Profile of inbound twin centre destination tourists to Malta and Gozo and Comino regions by year

Table 10. Inbound tourists by year, itinerary, region and type of accommodation

Table 11. Total nights spent by inbound tourists by year, itinerary, region and type of accommodation

Table 12. Total expenditure by inbound tourists by year, itinerary, region and expenditure category

All Tables

Methodological Notes

1. This release focuses on domestic and inbound tourism overnight stays. Users should be aware that domestic same-day visits and overnight stays within the same region of origin, such as, day-trips to Gozo and Comino region and weekend breaks in Malta region by Malta residents, are not included within the scope of this news release. Domestic tourism excludes individuals aged 0 to 14 years. Regional flows of inbound tourism exclude same-day visits across regions and classify trips into two components: single centre destination and twin centre destination.

2. In 2014, the National Statistics Office has introduced a new tool to measure National Tourism to satisfy the concepts and definitions as outlined by Eurostat. The collection consists of tourism demand data on domestic and outbound trips as required by Regulation (EC) No. 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning statistics on tourism statistics. The Regulation aims at giving a complete and comprehensive picture of tourism in Europe and allows the comparability of results with other EU member states. Data is collected via a quarterly Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) survey.

3. Inbound tourism trips 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 air passengers. In the first stage, alternate days and nights are selected. In the second stage, within each shift, a sample of passengers is selected systematically. Every crossing air passenger is counted and respondents are selected using a pre-defined interval of 1:20. Tourist sea departures data is supplemented by administrative data provided by ferry operators. Tourstat measures the number of tourist trips carried out during a reference period. ‘Tourist trips’ differs from the ‘number of tourists’ such that the same person can undertake more than one trip during a reference period.

4. Absolute and percentage changes between one survey estimate and another based on less than 1,500 tourists should be treated with caution and are represented in this news release by means of the dash symbol (-).

5. 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.

6. Arrivals and nights spent in time-share accommodation are being categorised in ‘Non-rented Accommodation’ instead of ‘Collective Accommodation’ as per Eurostat recommendation. In this regard, there may be minor differences in these statistics and statistics published in tourism supply due to the fact that hotels report time-share accommodation under ‘Collective Accommodation’.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. The nomenclature of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) provides a single, uniform breakdown of the economic territory of the European Union. The NUTS is the territorial classification for the compilation of regional statistics. The economic territory of a country can be divided into regional territories and the extra-regio territory. For the purpose of regional analysis, MALTA is divided as follows:

	NUTS 0	NUTS 1	NUTS 2	NUTS 3
MALTA	MT	MT0	MT00	MT000
Malta				MT001
Gozo and Comino				MT002
Extra-regional		MTZ	MTZZ	MTZZZ

The regional territory includes the region that is part of the geographic territory of a country and any free zones, including bonded warehouses and factories under customs control in the region. The extra-regio territory is made up of parts of the economic territory of a country that cannot be attached directly to a single region.

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

11. A detailed news release calendar is available online.

12. References to this news release are to be cited appropriately. For guidance on access and re-use of data please visit our dedicated webpage.

13. For further assistance send your request through our online request form.

Regional Tourism: 2023

NR 136/2024

Release Date: 24 July 2024

The total number of inbound and domestic tourists who visited the Gozo and Comino region during 2023 amounted to 564,396. Domestic tourists accounted for 71.9 per cent of total tourism demand within this region.
The total number of inbound and domestic tourists who visited the Malta region amounted to 2,942,836, with inbound tourists accounting for 98.4 per cent of total tourists visiting this region.
During 2023, domestic tourism across regions amounted to 454,495, an increase of 23.2 per cent when compared to 2022.
Gozo and Comino received 406,018 domestic tourists, or 89.3 per cent of total domestic tourists. The remaining 48,478 domestic trips were undertaken by Gozo and Comino residents visiting Malta region.
In 2023, inbound tourists that visited MALTA reached 2,975,670 tourists.

News Releases

Regional Tourism: 2023

Chart 1a. Domestic and inbound tourists by region

Chart 1b. Nights spent by domestic and inbound tourists by region

2.9 million

0.6 million

19.3 million

2.1 million

Chart 2a. Domestic tourism by region

Chart 2b. Nights spent by domestic tourists by region

Chart 3. Total guests and nights spent by domestic tourists

Chart 4. Inbound tourists by itinerary, region and year

Chart 5. Nights spent by Malta residents in Gozo/Comino region by type of accommodation in 2023

Chart 6. Nights spent by Gozo/Comino residents in Malta region by type of accommodation in 2023

Chart 7. Expenditure per capita by domestic tourists by region of destination and expenditure category

Tables

Tables

Methodological Notes

Regional Tourism: 2023

Regional Tourism: 2023

Chart 1a. Domestic and inbound tourists
by region