VALLETTA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Malta saw record growth in tourism in 2016, with more than 1.7 billion euros (1.8 billion U.S. dollars) being spent on its shores by visitors, Maltese authorities stated on Wednesday.
Data published by Malta's national statistics office indicate that in December 2016, Malta registered an impressive growth of nearly 33 percent in tourist arrivals over the previous year.
The full year results for 2016 indicated a growth of 10.5 percent, the largest growth in inbound tourists ever registered.
Malta has been enjoying an uninterrupted period of year-on-year growth in tourism since 2010, and 2016 is the seventh consecutive year of record growth.
"I am very pleased to note that we closed last year with almost 2 million tourist arrivals, and I am confident that we will actually surpass this milestone during 2017, resulting in a major achievement for the sector," stated Maltese Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis.
