Malta’s retail trade declined by 1.9% in August compared with the previous month, according to Eurostat figures , despite the country recording another record month for tourist arrivals.
Eurostat said Malta recorded the largest monthly decline in retail trade among the EU member states for which data was available after Luxembourg, with Latvia registering a smaller decline of 1.4%. Retail trade across both the Euro area and the European Union increased by 0.1% in August.
The latest figures therefore suggest that the strong upward trend in retail activity seen during the first seven months of the year was interrupted in August.
The decline is particularly notable given the record-breaking number of tourists that arrived in Malta during the same month. According to the National Statistics Office, 539,655 inbound tourists visited Malta in August, an increase of 14.7% over August 2025 and 50,161 more visitors than were recorded in July.
Tourist expenditure also continued to rise, reaching €629.3 million in August, up 14.9% compared with the same month last year. Tourists spent a total of 3.8 million nights in Malta during the month, an increase of 9.9% year-on-year.
Eurostat defines the retail trade volume index as the evolution of the total amount of goods sold after adjusting for price changes, with the series also adjusted for calendar and seasonal effects. The August figures therefore indicate a decline in the volume of goods sold rather than simply a fall in nominal retail turnover.
These statistics are therefore showing that retail consumption by the local population has decreased in August.
Newsroom
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