English-language students make up 3.4 pct of Malta's inbound tourists

VALLETTA, March 14 (Xinhua) -- The share of foreign students attending English Language courses in Malta stood at 3.4 percent of the total inbound tourists in 2018, Malta's National Statistics Office (NSO) revealed on Thursday.

According to the NSO report, foreign students attending English Language courses numbered 87,112, almost unchanged from that of 2017.

The majority of students attending English Language courses in Malta came from Italy, followed by Germany and France, which account for 48.7 percent of those students.

The largest share of Language students was aged 15 years or less, accounting for 34.2 percent of total students.

Female students outnumbered males, and accounted for 61.3 percent of total students.

The average length of stay during the year under review stood at 2.5 weeks, down by 0.3 weeks when compared to 2017.

English Language teaching is an important sector within the tourism industry as well as a predominant contributor to an ever-evolving education sector in Malta.