VALLETTA, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Malta experienced a record year for tourism in 2024, receiving 3.56 million visitors, marking a 19.5 percent increase compared to the previous year, the government announced on Wednesday.
Speaking at a national tourism conference organized by the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism Ian Borg highlighted that while Europe recorded an average 1 percent rise in tourism compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, Malta's tourism industry surged by 29 percent over the same five-year period.
Borg also noted that 2024 set a new record for tourist expenditure, which increased by 23.1 percent, reaching 3.3 billion euros (3.43 billion U.S. dollars), with an average spend of 924 euros per visitor.
"The 2024 results confirm that our tourism industry is not only growing in numbers but also making significant progress in the right direction. Visitors are now more evenly distributed throughout the year, coming from a wider range of markets, and for more diverse reasons than ever before," Borg said.
