Maltese residents are travelling more, staying abroad longer and spending more on their trips, according to new tourism figures published on Monday.
The figures show that almost 209,000 people went abroad between April and June this year, nearly 12% more than in 2024.
In total, the Maltese made 390,000 trips abroad during the first half of the year, a 6% jump from last year.
Two out of every three trips were for a holiday, the data shows, with nearly 136,000 travellers going abroad for leisure, 11.6% more than the previous year.
The number of business trips remained unchanged at a little over 20,000.
However, travellers appear to be spending longer on their travels; the number of trips lasting more than a week abroad has shot up by 28%, while those between four to six nights rose by 13%.
In total, Maltese travellers spent 2.8 million nights abroad in the first half of the year, a 17% rise compared to last year’s 2.4m nights. Between April and June, the average trip lasted just over seven days, compared to 6.4 days during the same period last year.
Meanwhile, people are spending more on their trips, with spending rising by more than a fifth compared to last year, the data shows.
In total, people spent €206.2m when travelling abroad between April and June, almost €38m more than the same period last year.
Italy remains by far the most popular destination for Maltese travellers, with one in three trips being to Italy. The UK is still a distant second, although trips to Britain have dipped compared to previous years.
Other destinations, such as Spain, France and Germany, are becoming increasingly popular, the data suggests.
Trips to India have also increased sharply, with almost 4,500 people travelling to the Asian country between April and June, almost 65% higher than last year.