VALLETTA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Malta's foreign student demographic is changing, with many more people from China coming to learn English, according to a Deloitte survey published Tuesday commissioned by Feltom (the Federation of English Language Teaching Organizations Malta).

The Malta Independent reported students coming to Malta to learn English as a foreign language are increasingly hailing from countries which previously did not turn to the island as its destination of choice.

The number of language students from China shot up by 55 percent in 2017 compared to a year earlier, and Moroccan students by 152 percent.

Feltom said students coming from traditional markets such as Libya, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden are on the decline, while those from other countries, such as Brazil, China, Japan and Poland are increasing.

The English language tourism sector remains an important niche market for tourism in Malta, says Deloitte, as well as for the economy in general, accounting for approximately 10.4 percent of total tourist guest nights on the island.