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Visit by Dr. Joseph Muscat, Leader of the Opposition and the Labour Party

Dr. Joseph Muscat, Leader of the Opposition and of the Labour Party visited the Institute of Tourism Studies on the 26th February.  He was accompanied by his wife Michelle as well as Mr. Evarist Bartolo Labour Party spokesman on Education, and Dr. Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, Labour Spokeswoman on Tourism.  Dr. Muscat discussed the ITS' activities and progress with the Institute's leadership which included Executive Chairman Mr. Reginald Abela and Head of Administration Mr.Joseph Bonello.  He also toured the Institute meeting staff and students and had the opportunity to experience the ITS students' gastronomic skills and talent during lunch at the Institute's Pembroke Suite Restaurant.  Dr. Muscat praised both ITS staff and students and augured a future when the Institute would achieve its aim of becoming an international college excelling in tourism education. 

EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER JOHN DALLI MEETS MALTESE EUROPEAN STUDIES TEACHERS AND EU PROJECT COORDINATORS

Just a few days after taking up office as EU Commissioner responsible for Health and Consumer Protection, John Dalli last week joined a group of teachers of European Studies and EU project coordinators, including Mr. Vincent Zammit, Coordinator of the ITS Centre for Culture and Heritage Studies.

The 20 teachers from the Maltese Institute of Tourism Studies, as well as state, church and private schools were being hosted for an information visit to the Belgian capital by the Visits' Section of the Directorate-General for Education and Culture of the European Commission, organised in collaboration with the European Commission Representation in Malta. During their two-day visit, the participants attended talks by various speakers on different EU policies, such as Education, Life-Long Learning, Youth and the European Voluntary Service.

Commissioner Dalli had the occasion to engage in an informal discussion with the teachers.

Part of the programme also included a visit to the European Parliament building in Brussels during which the participants met MEP Simon Busuttil who gave a presentation on his role as a MEP and answered questions.

Tourism in the EU27
Total nights spent in hotels fell by 5% in 2009
Nights spent by non-residents down by 9%

In 2009, nearly 1.5 billion nights were spent in hotels and similar establishments¹ in the EU27, a decrease of 5.1% compared with 2008, after an annual change of -0.2% in 2008 and +3.5% in 2007. The number of hotel nights spent by residents in their own country in 2009 fell by 1.6% and hotel nights spent by non-residents fell by 9.1%.

The decline in the number of hotel nights in the EU27, which began in the middle of 2008, slowed down during 2009. The number of hotel nights fell at an annual rate of 8.0% in January-April 2009 (compared with the same period of the previous year), of 4.1% in May-August and of 3.6% in September-December.

These estimates, which include nights spent whether for business or leisure, come from a publication² from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Change in number of hotel nights varied in 2009 from -23.3% in Latvia to +0.1% in Sweden

Amongst the Member States, the highest numbers of nights spent in hotels in 2009 were recorded in Spain (251 million nights, -6.5% compared with 2008), Italy (238 mn, -4.3%), Germany (216 mn, -1.4%), France (191 mn,
-5.6%) and the United Kingdom (170 mn, -1.7%). These five countries accounted for more than 70% of the total number of hotel nights in the EU27.

The number of nights spent in hotels in 2009 fell in all Member States, except Sweden (+0.1%). The largest decreases were recorded in Latvia (-23.3%), Lithuania (-20.4%), Cyprus (-19.7%) and Slovakia (-18.1%), and the smallest in Germany (-1.4%), the United Kingdom (-1.7%), Slovenia (-2.1%) and Austria (-2.9%).

Share of non-residents ranged from 15% in Romania to 96% in Malta

In 2009, non-residents accounted for 44% of the total number of nights spent in hotels in the EU27 compared with 56% for residents. Apart from the two Mediterranean islands, Malta (96%) and Cyprus (89%), the highest proportions of non-residents were registered in Latvia (73%), Greece and Austria (both 72%). The lowest proportions of non-residents were recorded in Romania (15%), Germany (20%), Sweden (24%), Finland (27%) and Poland (30%).

The highest numbers of hotel nights spent by non-residents were registered in Spain (142 mn, -8.9% compared with 2008), Italy (102 mn, -7.5%), France (64 mn, -11.1%), the United Kingdom (59 mn, -7.8%) and Austria
(58 mn, -4.6%), while for residents the highest levels were observed in Germany (173 mn, -0.6%), Italy (135 mn,
-1.9%), France (127 mn, -2.5%), the United Kingdom (111 mn, +2.2%) and Spain (109 mn, -3.1%).

Nights spent in hotels and similar establishments (in millions)

        2009*   Change 2009/2008, %     Change 2009/2008, %    
        Total   of which:       Total   of which:              
                Non-residents   Residents               Non-residents   Residents       Jan-Apr May-Aug Sep-Dec**      
EU27    1496.2  658.3   837.9   -5.1    -9.1    -1.6    -8.0    -4.1    -3.6   
BE      15.7    10.2    5.5     -4.9    -8.2    1.6     -6.0    -4.5    -3.7   
BG      14.2    9.4     4.8     -16.5   -19.5   -8.7    -8.0    -16.9   -23.4  
CZ      25.7    16.0    9.7     -6.2    -9.6    -0.2    -8.4    -4.7    -5.9   
DK      9.9     4.2     5.7     -8.5    -6.7    -9.8    -12.0   -8.4    -5.1   
DE      215.8   43.2    172.6   -1.4    -4.6    -0.6    -3.8    -0.3    -0.6   
EE      3.5     2.5     0.9     -10.0   -7.3    -16.9   -12.3   -9.9    -6.8   
IE      23.6    15.2    8.5     -15.4   -20.2   -3.9    -12.3   -16.9   -15.9  
EL      59.5    42.6    17.0    -7.3    -9.9    0.9     -7.7    -6.9    -8.3   
ES      251.1   141.6   109.5   -6.5    -8.9    -3.1    -10.5   -5.7    -3.8   
FR      191.2   63.8    127.4   -5.6    -11.1   -2.5    -8.2    -4.7    -2.0   
IT      237.7   102.2   135.4   -4.3    -7.5    -1.9    -9.0    -2.7    -1.5   
CY      11.5    10.2    1.2     -19.7   -21.9   5.1     -9.4    -20.1   -25.6  
LV      2.2     1.6     0.6     -23.3   -16.5   -37.6   -24.4   -22.9   -22.7  
LT      2.1     1.3     0.7     -20.4   -14.6   -29.3   -22.7   -19.8   -18.7  
LU      :       :       :       :       :       :       -10.6   -9.9    :      
HU      14.7    7.6     7.1     -9.5    -10.5   -8.4    -11.7   -8.8    -7.2   
MT      6.7     6.4     0.4     -13.3   -14.1   5.9     -14.7   -15.2   -8.5   
NL      31.4    14.3    17.0    -4.0    -5.0    -3.1    -6.8    -2.3    -3.1   
AT      80.0    57.7    22.3    -2.9    -4.6    1.6     -3.9    -2.6    -1.2   
PL      24.5    7.4     17.0    -3.1    -6.5    -1.5    -6.9    -1.5    -0.9   
PT      36.5    23.3    13.1    -7.3    -11.8   2.2     -11.2   -5.9    -5.5   
RO      16.6    2.5     14.0    -16.4   -21.9   -15.3   -23.1   -13.1   -17.7  
SI      5.5     3.4     2.1     -2.1    -7.8    8.9     -1.6    -1.5    -3.6   
SK      6.3     2.8     3.5     -18.1   -28.4   -6.3    -18.6   -19.4   -14.1  
FI      15.0    4.1     10.9    -6.8    -13.4   -4.1    -7.5    -6.2    -6.9   
SE      25.9    6.1     19.9    0.1     3.3     -0.9    -5.3    4.6     -1.6   
UK      169.6   58.5    111.1   -1.7    -7.8    2.2     -7.7    2.3     -2.0   
HR      18.6    16.1    2.5     -9.4    -8.5    -14.5   -7.4    -10.1   -8.0   
CH      35.3    20.0    15.4    -5.4    -7.1    -3.2    -7.4    -5.6    -1.0   
LI      0.1     0.1     0.0     -8.4    -9.1    18.5    -7.2    -9.4    -8.7   
NO      17.6    4.4     13.2    -3.6    -10.3   -1.0    -7.2    -2.1    -1.0   
:       Data not available

*       2009 estimates based on 9, 10, 11 or 12 months data as available. LU: estimate not possible due to limited data availability.

**      Sep-Dec estimates based on available data.

BE: Belgium, BG: Bulgaria, CZ: Czech Republic, DK: Denmark, DE: Germany, EE: Estonia, IE: Ireland, EL: Greece, ES: Spain, FR: France,
IT: Italy, CY: Cyprus, LV: Latvia, LT: Lithuania, LU: Luxembourg, HU: Hungary, MT: Malta, NL: Netherlands, AT: Austria, PL: Poland,
PT: Portugal, RO: Romania, SI: Slovenia, SK: Slovakia, FI: Finland, SE: Sweden, UK: United Kingdom, HR: Croatia, CH: Switzerland, LI: Liechtenstein, NO: Norway.

Hotels and similar establishments ("Hotels" in the text): Hotels, apartment hotels, motels, roadside inns, beach hotels and other similar establishments which provide hotel services including more than bed-making and cleaning of the room and sanitary facilities. Similar establishments are other similar types of accommodation which is let per room and has a limited number of hotel-type services, including bed making and cleaning of rooms and sanitary facilities, on a daily basis.

The number of nights includes nights spent by both residents and non-residents, whether for business or leisure.

2.      Eurostat, Data in Focus, 4/2010 "Tourism in Europe: First results for 2009". Available free of charge in PDF format on the Eurostat website.

Published by: Eurostat Press Office:

Louise CORSELLI-NORDBLAD

Tel: +352-4301-33 444

eurostat-pressoffice@ec.europa.eu

        For further information:

Krista DIMITRAKOPOULOU

Tel: +352-4301-33 298

chryssanthi.dimitrakopoulou@ec.europa.eu       
Eurostat news releases on the Internet: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat