Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1512791
€1.50 THURSDAY 7 DECEMBER 2023 • ISSUE 235 WWW.BUSINESSTODAY.COM.MT PAGE 3 Most Maltese expect standard of living to worsen: Eurobarometer Inbound tourists in October 2023 reached 313,705 31.1 per cent increase over October 2022 KARL AZZOPARDI THE vast majority of Maltese peo- ple expect their standard of living to decrease next year, a Euroba- rometer survey shows. e survey showed 85% of re- spondents believed things will take a turn to the worse in the 2024, while 50% believe that at present, things are going in the wrong di- rection. e data, covering citizens from all member states, was published six months before next year's Euro- pean Parliament elections, which will be held between 6 and 9 June. e survey looked at life in the EU from the citizen's perspective, their perceptions of the EU, the European Parliament, as well as EU membership. STAR PERFORMER MSE FTSE 100 EUR EXCHANGE RATES Trading Date: 6 Dec 2023 Number of Trades: 149 Turnover: €3,601,621.42 MSE TRX Index: 7869.673 Change: 0.189% Name: 3.5% BOV SUB NTS MT0000021320 - Currency € Last Traded: 6 Dec 2023 Price 90.870 Change +2.860 US Dollar 1.0522 British Pound: 0.86477 Japanese Yen: 144.59 Australian Dollar: 1.5451 Swiss Franc: 0.98700 7,613.67 78.12 7,613.39 / 7,312.00 Value Net variation High / Low +0.86% PAUL COCKS IN October 2023, a total of 283,595 inbound tour- ists visited Malta for holiday purposes, and 20,375 tourists came for business purposes. e largest share of inbound tourists were aged be- tween 25 and 44 (37.8 per cent), followed by the 45- 64 age bracket (34.4 per cent). United Kingdom, Italian and German residents made up 44.1 per cent of total inbound tourists. Total nights spent went up by 30.7 per cent when compared to October 2022, surpassing two million nights. e largest share of guest nights (85.2 per cent) was spent in rented accommodation establish- ments. e average length of stay of total inbound tourists stood at 6.6 nights. PAGE 5 Volume of retail trade up by 0.1% in the euro area in October Retail trade volume In October 2023, the seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade increased by 0.1% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU, compared with September 2023, according to estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In September 2023, the retail trade volume decreased by 0.1% both in the euro area and in the EU.