Facebook ads for restaurants
Fill tables with Meta ads: offers, locals and visitors, and booking links.
Facebook & Instagram ads · Tourism
Facebook ads for tourism
businesses in Malta.
Tourism businesses in Malta get the most from Facebook ads in two stages. First reach guests in their home countries before they book. Then show offers to people already on the island. Malta Digital runs both stages in Meta ads management, from €1,249 a month plus ad spend.
2,828,134 arrivalsMalta tourist accommodation, 2025
Short answer
Run one campaign in your main guest countries before the booking window, and one around your location for people in Malta now. In 2025, 90.4% of guests at Malta tourist accommodation came from abroad, and 23.1% came from the UK. Malta Digital sets this up in Meta ads management in Malta.
Key takeaways
- Do Facebook ads work for tourism businesses in Malta? Yes, when they reach guests at the right time. Most guests book at home, so run ads in their countries before the booking window, then show offers to people in Malta.
- Which countries should a Malta hotel target with Facebook ads? Start with your own booking data. Nationally, the UK, Italy, Poland, Germany and France were the largest foreign groups at Malta tourist accommodation in 2025, per Eurostat.
- Can I target only tourists who are in Malta now? Meta reaches people who live in or were recently in your chosen area. It does not offer a tourists-only switch, so make the ad itself speak to visitors.
Why it matters
Your guests decide before they land.
Most visitors pick their hotel, and often their tours, at home. By the time they land at the airport, many plans are made. A business that only advertises to people already in Malta misses the moment the booking happens.
Example sceneA family in Manchester starts planning a May week in Malta in February. They see a 12-second video of a St Julian’s hotel terrace, then a carousel of its rooms a week later. They book direct. On day two in Malta, a “Table for tonight” ad from a restaurant nearby fills their evening. This is an example, not a client result.
The numbers show how much of the market comes from abroad. Malta’s tourist accommodation recorded 2,828,134 guest arrivals in 2025. Of those, 2,555,515, or 90.4%, came from other countries (Eurostat tour_occ_arnraw (arrivals by country of residence), opened 7 Nov 2026).
This guide shows how hotels, tour operators, boat trips and restaurants can use Meta ads in Malta to reach those guests twice: once at home, and again on the island.
Official data
Where Malta’s guests came from in 2025.
Eurostat publishes arrivals at tourist accommodation by country of residence. These are guests in hotels, holiday and other short-stay homes, and campsites. Here are Malta’s largest groups for 2025, with the change from 2024.
| Guests from | Arrivals 2025 | Share of 2025 | Change vs 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 652,222 | 23.1% | +22.1% |
| Italy | 319,141 | 11.3% | −6.1% |
| Malta (residents) | 272,619 | 9.6% | +0.4% |
| Poland | 235,284 | 8.3% | +41.6% |
| Germany | 171,128 | 6.1% | +4.7% |
| France | 163,697 | 5.8% | −10.5% |
| All guests | 2,828,134 | 100% | +10.9% |
Three things stand out. The UK is almost a quarter of all guests. Poland grew fastest among the big groups. And Malta residents are close to one in ten guests, which matters for staycation and weekend offers.
Use this to choose your ad countries and languages. A Sliema hotel might run English ads in the UK and Italian ads in Italy. A Gozo farmhouse let might add a Maltese-language staycation offer for winter weekends. Shares are our own sums from the Eurostat counts.
Seasons
Shoulder months are bigger than you think.
Many owners cut ads after August. The monthly data says that is often too early. In October 2025, 265,149 foreign guests arrived at Malta tourist accommodation. That was more than in June, July or August 2025 (Eurostat tour_occ_arm (monthly arrivals), opened 7 Nov 2026).
April 2026 was strong too, with 263,546 foreign arrivals. The quietest month in this run was January 2026, with 154,434. Plan budget for the shoulder months, and use winter for warm audiences and returning guests.
Your own booking data beats any national figure. Look at when your guests booked last year, not only when they stayed. That gap is your booking window.
Targeting
How Meta location targeting reaches visitors.
Meta’s location setting reaches people based on where they spend time. Meta says your ads show to people who live in your chosen places or were recently there (Meta Business Help: Choose locations for your ad, opened 7 Nov 2026). You can add up to 25 countries in one ad set.
There is one setting tourism businesses should know. When you pick a city or region, Meta may tick “Reach more people likely to respond to your ads” by default. Meta then also finds people interested in travelling to that place. That can help a hotel. A restaurant that only wants people nearby tonight may want to untick it.
In practice we run two ad sets. One targets your main guest countries before the booking window. The other targets the area around you, for people in Malta now. Our Facebook ads targeting guide covers audiences in more depth.
Free tool
Plan your dates with the free visitor planner.
Pick the month your guests arrive and how many weeks ahead they usually book. The planner gives you dates for warm-up video, booking ads and in-Malta ads. It uses only the numbers you enter.
Visitor ad date planner
Your arrival month and booking lead time in, three campaign dates out. Nothing leaves this page.
Your plan
This planner needs JavaScript. Count back your booking window from the arrival month by hand.
Creative
Creative that books rooms, tables and trips.
Meta’s own advice for travel advertisers suggests vertical video under 15 seconds for trip ideas. It suggests carousel and collection ads for people ready to book, plus retargeting of people who visited your site (Meta Business Help: Campaign considerations for travel advertisers, opened 7 Nov 2026).
Hotels and holiday lets. A phone walk-through of the real room, the view at sunrise, the walk to the beach. Honest footage answers the question every guest has.
Tours and boat trips. The first jump into the water, the Blue Lagoon from the deck, the guide talking. Show the meeting point and the price.
Restaurants. The dish, the terrace at golden hour and the booking button. For people already in Malta, “Table for tonight” is clearer than any slogan.
Write in the language of each market. Show prices and dates when you can. Our guide to Facebook video ads explains the lengths and shapes for each placement.
Run a hotel, tour, boat trip or restaurant?
Apply now and tell us your guest countries and busy months. We will sketch the two campaigns we would run first.
Proof
Proof: tracked sales from Meta ads.
This result is from an online store, not a tourism business. We show it because direct bookings work the same way as online sales. Spend goes in, tracked purchases come out, and you judge the ratio. From 1 May to 25 July 2025 the store spent $28,130.74 and Meta tracked $150,527.84 in purchases, an average ROAS of 5.35.
Tracked purchase value is not profit. For a hotel or tour, the same view shows bookings and booking value, as long as tracking is set up on the booking page.
Want your ads judged on bookings, not likes? Apply now for tourism Meta ads
Tracking
Direct bookings need tracking and a booking page.
Meta can only optimise for bookings it can see. That means the Meta Pixel and, ideally, the Conversions API on your booking confirmation. Our Pixel and Conversions API guide explains the setup.
The page matters as much as the ad. Send people to a page that opens on the right room or trip, shows the price, and books in a few taps. Our guides to hotel direct bookings and the booking systems we build in Malta cover that side.
Every direct booking also gives you the guest’s details for next season. A booking through a third-party site often does not.
Costs
What it costs and what we handle.
You set the ad spend and pay Meta directly. Malta Digital’s Meta ads management starts from €1,249 a month plus ad spend. That covers strategy, campaign setup, tracking review, ad copy and static creative, testing and clear reports.
Example only: if you run €20 a day in your home markets and €10 a day in Malta for 30 days, that is €900 of ad spend for the month. Your own budget may be higher or lower. See Facebook ads cost in Malta and the budget planner to work out yours.
A few straight answers
What you might be wondering.
Do Facebook ads work for tourism businesses in Malta?
Yes, when they reach guests at the right time. Most guests book at home, so run ads in their countries before the booking window, then show offers to people in Malta.
Which countries should a Malta hotel target with Facebook ads?
Start with your own booking data. Nationally, the UK, Italy, Poland, Germany and France were the largest foreign groups at Malta tourist accommodation in 2025, per Eurostat.
Can I target only tourists who are in Malta now?
Meta reaches people who live in or were recently in your chosen area. It does not offer a tourists-only switch, so make the ad itself speak to visitors.
When should Malta tourism businesses run Facebook ads?
Before the booking window and during the stay. October 2025 had more foreign arrivals than June, July or August 2025, so keep ads on through the shoulder months.
What ad format works best for hotels and tours?
Meta suggests vertical video under 15 seconds for inspiration and carousel or collection ads for booking. Real footage of your place usually works best.
Should I write ads in Italian or Polish?
For large guest groups, yes. Ads in the reader’s language feel more trustworthy. Test it against English with the same offer.
How much does Malta Digital charge for tourism Meta ads?
Meta ads management starts from €1,249 a month plus ad spend. You pay the ad spend to Meta directly, and the ad account stays in your name.
Sources
Where these facts come from.
- Eurostat tour_occ_arnraw (arrivals by country of residence), via the Eurostat API, opened 7 Nov 2026
- Eurostat tour_occ_arm (monthly arrivals), via the Eurostat API, opened 7 Nov 2026
- Meta Business Help: Choose locations for your ad, opened 7 Nov 2026
- Meta Business Help: Campaign considerations for travel advertisers, opened 7 Nov 2026
Keep reading
Related guides.
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Sell tickets with Meta ads, for locals and visitors.
Facebook ads targeting
How to target Malta and Gozo without making ads more expensive.
A useful first step
Want more direct bookings from visitors?
We plan home-market and in-Malta campaigns, set up tracking on your booking page and report on bookings, not likes. From €1,249 a month plus ad spend.
Step 1 of 2
Apply now for tourism Meta ads
A few quick questions, about a minute. We usually reply within 2–3 hours.