Statistics released by Malta’s National Statistics Office for inbound tourism suggest Malta’s popularity in the North American market is growing.
Konrad Mizzi, minister of tourism for Malta, said the United States is one of the fastest-growing markets, recording an increase of 31.9 percent from 2017 to 2018, with a total of 47,170 Americans visitors. The increase from Canada in 2018 was 6.6 percent (15,015 Canadians) bringing the total arrivals from North America in 2018 to a record-breaking 62,185.
Overall, Malta recorded an 2.6 million visitors for last year (up 14.3 percent between 2017 and 2018), setting a new record.
“If the overwhelming number of people stopping at the Malta booth last month at the January 2019 New York Times Travel Show is any indication, this market will continue to boom,” said Michelle Buttigieg, the Malta Tourism Authority’s representative for North America. “The MTA is very proactive in North America, both with travel industry organizations such as the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA) and Virtuoso, a network of luxury travel agents…An important part of Malta’s appeal to the North American traveler is that English is an official language, and that Malta is a safe, peaceful and stable EU democracy.”