Malta Tourism Growth Drives €629 Million in August Spending

Malta’s tourism sector delivered its best August performance in three years, with 539,655 tourists visiting the island last month, a 14.7% increase on the same period in 2025, according to the latest figures from the National Statistics Office (NSO). Visitor spending kept pace with the surge in arrivals, reaching €629.3 million for the month, up nearly 15% year-on-year.

The figures extend a strong run for Malta’s tourism industry across 2026 as a whole. Year to date, the island has welcomed just over 3.16 million tourists, up almost 18% on the same period last year, generating close to €3 billion in total spending. Visit durations have also increased, with rented accommodation continuing to dominate over traditional hotel stays, a trend with clear implications for Malta’s short-let and property sectors.

Leisure travel remains firmly in the driving seat, with holidaymakers vastly outnumbering business visitors in August, and younger travellers accounting for the bulk of arrivals: those aged 25-44 made up the largest share, closely followed by the under-25 bracket. The UK, Italy and Poland remain Malta’s top three source markets, a pattern that has held steady throughout the year.

Gozo and Comino also had a standout month, drawing two-thirds of August’s inbound tourists, a reminder of how central they have become to Malta’s broader tourism offering, and a trend operators and policymakers alike will be watching closely as the sector heads into the final stretch of the year.