January arrivals to Malta down 90.8% year-on-year

The tourism sector is showing no signs of recovery, with the total number of inbound tourist arrivals for January 2021 down 90.8 per cent when compared to the same month last year.

The figures emerge from a National Statistics Office (NSO) release on Tuesday, which also showed that the total nights spent, totalling 190,853, were down by 79.8 per cent when compared to the same period last year, indicating that tourists are staying longer in the country.

The increased length of stay was recorded especially among tourists staying in non-rented and other rented accommodation, while the largest share of guest nights (58.3 per cent) was spent in non-rented accommodation.

Total tourist expenditure for January 2021 was estimated at €11.7 million, a decrease of 87.6 per cent over the corresponding month in 2020.

Over half (50.9 per cent) of all inbound tourists were aged between 25 and 44 years, while those in the 45-64 age bracket made up 22.3 per cent of the number.

The main markets were France and Italy, with a joint share of 47.3 per cent of total inbound tourists.

The 13,806 arrivals were largely in Malta for holiday purposes, while 1,553 visited for business purposes.