[WATCH] Tourism Minister expects 700,000 visitors by end of year

Tourism arrivals will be a far cry from what they were last year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic but Malta still hopes to have attracted 700,000 tourists by the end of the year

Malta International Airport will open its doors to travellers on 1 July
Malta International Airport will open its doors to travellers on 1 July
Tourism Minister expects 700,000 tourists by end of year

After a three-month stoppage in tourism arrivals, the Tourism Minister is expecting arrivals to reach 700,000 by the end of the year.

Julia Farrugia Portelli said Malta will be starting its tourist season on the seventh month of the year as the airport reopens its doors to travel on 1 July.

“It is a fact that countries around the globe are not expecting the tourism figures we’ve seen in previous years but we are estimating 700,000 arrivals by the end of the year,” she said.

Last year, Malta attracted 2.7 million tourists but all travel was wiped out in March as a result of restrictions introduced globally to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The minister said Malta was doing its utmost in marketing the country to travellers around the globe. 

Addressing a press conference unveiling a new virtual underwater museum, the tourism minister said that Malta is being advertised as a safe country, while also sustaining its commitment in renewing its touristic product.