Visitor numbers have been in decline on the Mediterranean island of Malta, but the hope is that 2007 will see new life breathed into her hotel and holidays industry.
The Malta hotels and holiday industry are major players in the island’s economy, and with unemployment already high, a further drop in the number of visitors next year could have a negative impact not just in tourism but for Malta as a whole.
Throughout the year the monthly statistics for the number of tourists visiting Malta have made depressing reading for the Malta hotels, and the next twelve months will be pivotal as to whether the island can stay in the mainstream of holiday destinations, or be relegated to niche travel status.
The island was rife with rumours earlier in the year that a UK tour operator was going to withdraw the island from their 2007 brochures, and a survey in the island’s biggest market showed that Malta would be more expensive for British tourists than the Canary and Balearic Islands for equivalent holidays next year.
But more recent news has brought hope to the Malta holidays market that 2007 will see an arrest in the decline of visitor numbers seen...