Malta Tourism Authority announced that 2023 was a stellar year for inbound tourism

04.03.2024 - 07:51 / traveldailynews.com / Vicky Karantzavelou

Dramatic increase from the North American market.

NEW YORK, NY – Tourism Minister for Malta, Clayton Bartolo, announced that 2023 was a record year for the number of inbound tourists, exceeding the 3 million mark (3,002,823), even surpassing 2019 figures by 8.3%. Bartolo noted that 2023 proved to be the best year of all time for Malta’s tourism industry, including the number of inbound tourists, guest nights spent in Malta, and tourist expenditure. The Minister further stated that Malta was the best performing Mediterranean destination in 2023, and one of the first destinations in Europe to fully recover after the pandemic.

The increase from the U.S. & Canadian markets also showed extraordinary growth. According to Michelle Buttigieg, the Malta Tourism Authority North American Representative, the 2023 total number of visitors from the U.S. was 55,096, an increase of 35.6% over 2022 and a 9% increase over 2019 pre-COVID numbers. Canada also showed a 36.3% growth (20,820) over 2022 and an increase of 7.5% when compared to 2019 (pre-COVID figures). Buttigieg also pointed out that the cruise industry played a key role in this increase from the U.S. since Valletta, is a major port of call for Mediterranean cruise lines. In the last quarter of 2023 alone, there were 82 cruise liner calls compared to the 21 cruise lines of the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The total number of American passengers for the same period (Q4/2023) reached 32,920, 40% of the non-EU cruise passengers.

Vilhena Gate, Mdina (Photo: Malta Tourism Authority)

Buttigieg further noted, “key factors contributing to the increase in tourism from the U.S. & Canada is Malta’s diversity, there is something for every interest. Equally important for the North American market is Malta’s expansion as a luxury destination with new 5-star hotel openings, curated experiences, and a dedication to incorporating sustainable practices.” She added that this growth also reflects MTA North America’s concerted efforts through education, including the strong support from the Malta DMCs in working closely with tour operators through USTOA (United States Tour Operators Association), travel advisors through consortia such as Virtuoso, as well as a robust Travel Agent Academy Training Program. These initiatives, combined with a well organized, integrated marketing campaign, a focused PR strategy, pushing luxury and curated experiences, niche markets, as well as a targeted Advertising campaign for trade and consumers have proven to be very effective.

MTA CEO Carlo Micallef explained “MTA’s marketing strategy – one that is data driven, focused on higher income experiential traveler demographics, agile to adjust to get best results and customer centric to