Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2018 amounted to €2,795.1 million, an increase of €171.0 million or 6.5 per cent when compared to the corresponding quarter last year. In real terms, GDP went up by 4.4 per cent.
Inbound Tourism
Total inbound visitors for April 2018 were estimated at 234,488, an increase of 15.7 per cent when compared to the corresponding month in 2017. For the period January – April 2018, total inbound tourism expenditure surpassed €431.3 million, 10.3 per cent higher than that recorded for 2017, whilst for the same period total expenditure per capita stood at €666, a decrease of 6.6 per cent when compared to 2017
On the 18th May 2018, MHRA (Malta’s Hotel and Restaurant Association), issued its usual survey results and expressed concerns that while that the sector was experiencing strong growth, it was important that the sustainability of touristic sector in Malta was tackled, with a strategy that changes from counting tourist arrival numbers to increasing the quality of the tourist and maximising on the spend per tourist day. Thus, MHRA proposed that government is to consider carrying out a Carrying Capacity Assessment with the aim to establish sustainable levels of growth in tourism, as such exercise was last held in 2001.
Malta’s Latest Economic News
In April 2018, the seasonally adjusted index of industrial production decreased by 1.4 per cent which was mainly due to a decrease in the production of consumer goods (5.9 per cent) and intermediate goods (1.0 per cent). Increases were registered in the production of energy (1.1 per cent) and capital goods (0.3 per cent).
Preliminary figures show that Malta registered a trade surplus of €157.3 million in April 2018, compared to a trade deficit of €222.1 million in the corresponding month of 2017. During the first four months of 2018, the trade deficit narrowed by €371.2 million when compared to the corresponding period of 2017, reaching €458.8 million. Imports show a decrease of €111.4 million, while exports increased by €259.8 million.
