Kategorie: News
New perspective for summer in Malta
Tourists are to be welcomed back to Malta from June. A financial package for the tourism sector worth about 20 million euros should help.
New Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo spoke about Malta's recovery plan at a press conference yesterday. A plan that envisages vaccinated tourists being able to travel Malta unhindered with a digital green passport as proof of vaccination. Non-vaccinated tourists will then be able to present a negative PCR test for entry, just as before.
Tourism in particular is one of the largest sources of income for the island state of Malta. The Maltese government is now planning to support the tourism relaunch with a package of measures worth a total of 20 million euros. This is intended to get tourism up and running again before the summer months.
Support for sports and diving tourism, for EFL language schools, for tourist attractions, for long-term tourism and MICE, and support for tour operators are included. There is also a reserve fund for events and festivals under discussion, but these still need to be discussed and given the appropriate nod.
Malta also has one of the highest vaccination rates against COVID-19 in Europe. Over 25 percent of the population has already received their first vaccine dose and already around 10.36 percent already have the 2nd vaccine. "We have a very robust national health system, we are efficient and we don't have a dormant stock of vaccine doses that are not being used," explained Maltese Health Minister Chris Fearne in an interview with CNN.
Eighteen airlines are flying to Malta this summer. From Germany: AirMalta, Lufthansa and Ryanair. This would cover 70 percent of 2019 travel levels again. "While global tourism has collapsed, Malta has worked harder than ever to ensure connectivity remains a priority," said Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo.
The airline's chief executive officer, David G. Curmi, is also positive about the digital green passport: "Air Malta welcomes the EU Commission's proposal of the digital green certificate. The certificate offers several benefits, as travelers who are vaccinated can be exempted from any travel restrictions that may apply, and takes into account our belief that vaccinations should not be mandatory in order to travel. Europe needs a clear path out of this pandemic that has caused so much suffering to the travel industry, especially for countries like Malta that rely heavily on tourism."
"We need common solutions, effective and safe measures for all travelers, and international procedures that are fully coordinated and aligned," adds Curmi.
More information about Malta:
Malta on Taucher.Net