Number of summer bookings received so far ‘encouraging’ – Prime Minister

Prime Minister Robert Abela, when asked about target projections for tourism come summer, said: “the number of bookings that have come in so far is encouraging”.

He was speaking during a Wednesday morning press conference where the Government announced new financial aid measures for those worst impacted by COVID-19 to the tune of €20 million.

He said the encouraging bookings are thanks to Malta’s success in controlling infection numbers as well as its speedy vaccination rollout. According to the European Centre for Disease Control, Malta is the country in Europe with the highest rate of full COVID-19 vaccination among adults, and number two in terms of the number of residents per capita who have received one dose of the jab.

“Personally, I feel many tourists are assessing the pandemic situation in each country and are making their holiday bookings based on this. That is why the careful lifting of restrictions is so crucial, and why we must be cautious.

“When we open up for tourism, we need to be in a good situation, and we need to ensure that tourism is opened up in a secure way.”

Malta aims to reopen to international tourism on 1st June, and has separately announced a €20 million aid package to specifically boost the local tourism sector, such as incentives for tourists to book with Malta’s hotels directly, subsidies for travel agencies to market Malta as a holiday destination and targeted aid measures for the diving and sports tourism sectors.