Released on = February 18, 2006, 2:56 pm

Press Release Author = YourMalta.com

Industry =

Press Release Summary = Hoping for a boost in tourists, the arrival of low cost
flights to Malta is eagerly anticipated by hotels and holiday companies on the
Mediterranean island.

Press Release Body = With Malta visitor numbers static in recent years and facing
new competiton from former Eastern Bloc countries offering cheap holidays, the
recent announcement by the Maltese government that negotiations were at an advanced
stage with two low cost airlines has sparked hopes that the island will see a rise
in tourists, much to the relief of some in the tourist industry worried about the
future of Malta as a holiday destination.

Even before the new carriers to the island land the existing airlines have been
offering return flights at prices seemingly much lower than in the past to try and
hold on to their share of the market.

According to local travel guide http://www.yourmalta.com the airline negotiations
have been tempered with the need for the island's government to see that the
national carrier, Air Malta, isn't damaged as it is one of Malta's major employers.

Traditionally the UK has been Malta's biggest market for incoming tourists, often
making up over half of the island's visitors in any given year, but some on the
island see even this market as under threat. And property buyers from the UK have
accounted for seventy per cent of Malta property sales to overseas buyers in recent
years, settling in Valletta, Sliema, St Paul's, Mellieha, St Julian's and Qawra.

A good number of UK visitors and property buyers for Malta in recent years have been
ex-forces who served for the British during WW2 when Malta held out against Hitler's
Luftwaffe, and then in peacetime through to 1979 when the last of the British
military left the island, and have returned for holidays.

But with the inevitability of this market declining a new breed of Malta's holiday
and hotel entrepreneurs see Malta's future as less dependent on the UK tourist, and
being more cosmopolitan in her outlook.

Declining Market and New Opportunities

Tribune Properties, a UK company specialising in Malta properties, say they have
noticed more buyers making enquiries from other countries over the last year. In
particular they say they have been receiving enquiries from France, Italy and
Germany.

'The UK remains the foundation for overseas property buyers considering buying
property in Malta, but the overall percentage is reducing as more and more people in
mainland Europe have visited Malta, and liked it so much they want to either move to
the island full time or buy a holiday home.

The arrival of low cost flights to Malta though could reignite British interest as
three and four day breaks a few times a year becomes financially viable. If the
airlines fly to destinations in Europe too the number of buyers for Malta property
could rise in the immediate and medium term' explains Tribune's Managing Director,
Roger Munns.

For Malta's tourist industry three and four day visitors in increased numbers will
be a welcome boost. There is discussion on the island about extending club's opening
hours beyond the current 4am.

Clubbers in the UK are used to 6am closing, and might be deterred from making a
weekend trip with a three hour flight only to find shorter hours available for
partying.

'There are new opportunities for Malta, and it's for the island to decide whether to
embrace them and gain a new generation of visitors - or ignore them and lose an
asset for the economy' agree YourMalta.com

'Malta has a lot to offer the visitor apart from being a Mediterranean holiday
island. Malta has a rich culture and history, and can easily appeal to all
generations from toddlers to pensioners. More Italians and other nationalities are
discovering Malta as a destination. Malta will become more cosmopolitan. And while
some of the older more conservative residents are likely to be against a younger and
more diverse mix of visitors from what they have been used to and see change as
something to be afraid of, we believe the island will embrace the more cosmopolitan
feel, while retaining the features that make Malta a unique visit among her
Mediterranean island neighbours.'


Web Site = http://www.yourmalta.com

Contact Details = YourMalta.com, Welbeck House, High Street, Guildford, Surrey, GU1
3JF, England welbeck36@hotmail.com +44 1483 870340