Malta Sees Strong Tourist Growth with Millions Visiting in 2025 Malta welcomed 3.49 million tourists during the first ten months of 2025, a 12.4% rise compared to the same period in 2024, the National Statistics Office reported. Total nights spent reached 22.2 million, while tourist expenditure rose nearly 20% to €3.47 billion, with per capita spending up to €993. Gozo and Comino accounted for 59% of all visitors. In October alone, inbound tourists increased 17.3% to 417,103, with the majority aged 45-64 and British, Italian and Polish residents forming the largest share. (Times of Malta)
Education Faculty Calls for Unity After School Stabbing in Pembroke The recent stabbing at St Clare’s College in Pembroke has prompted calls for a collective response from Malta’s education system. Colin Calleja, dean of the university education faculty, stressed that ensuring safety in schools is a shared responsibility of institutions, families, authorities and society. Praising teachers, administrators and unions for their professionalism, Calleja urged calm, solidarity and coordinated efforts to support students, families and school staff while maintaining safe learning environments. The victim remains in stable condition, and police continue to question the aggressor. (Maltatoday)
World AIDS Day Protest Highlights HIV Prevention Failures in Malta A coalition of NGOs staged a silent demonstration outside Parliament on World AIDS Day, protesting government delays in providing free HIV prevention medications. Activists, including Checkpoint Malta, MGRM and LGBTI+ Gozo, symbolically covered their eyes, mouths and ears to draw attention to ongoing preventable infections. Malta recorded 53 new HIV cases in 2024, a 65% increase, placing the country among the highest rates in the EU and EEA. Organisers called for urgent action to protect lives and fulfil commitments under the National Sexual Health Strategy. (Newsbook)
