Malta’s tourism recovery sluggish compared to Southern European neighbours

The recovery of Malta’s tourism industry as gauged by arrivals into the country’s airport is lagging behind that of its Southern European counterparts, with passenger arrivals standing at only 39 per cent of their July 2019 levels last month.

This compares to a 57 per cent recovery rate at the country’s Mediterranean neighbours, according to Airports Council International data.

Malta’s air travel figures for July were released on Tuesday by Malta International Airport (MIA), which said it recorded 311,692 passenger movements in the period.

Seat capacity deployed on routes to and from Malta was 35.5 per cent below 2019 levels, and seat occupancy stood at 52.6 per cent, compared to 87 per cent in July 2019.

The month also saw the return of the United Kingdom among the airport’s top five markets following the easing of travel restrictions between the two countries, as well as the subsequent increase in flight frequencies on several UK routes and the introduction of additional routes.

The country moved up four places compared to the month before, to become the second largest of the airport’s markets, leapfrogging France, Germany and Poland.

Italy retained its top spot with 60,388 passenger movements.

During the month, according to the airport, travel opportunities for the local market continued to increase as national French carrier, Air France launched three weekly flights to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.

Additionally, two brand-new routes to Chania and Cagliari were added to Malta International Airport’s summer schedule.