Leaders of over 50 countries from the Commonwealth will be meeting on the Mediterranean island of Malta from November 25 to 27, and for three days the island will be enjoying the attention of hundreds of millions of TV and online news viewers and newspaper readers worldwide.
Malta has often been overlooked by holidaymakers and second home owners in favour of other Mediterranean islands such as Mallorca, Cyprus and Menorca, and hotels and estate agents alike on the island are hoping that the three days of publicity will boost tourist and property buyer numbers for 2006.
With good all year round weather and an English speaking population visitor numbers from the UK, which make up about half of the islands tourist numbers, have been surprisingly flat in recent years, and with cheaper holidays available in the new destinations from Eastern Europe such as Bulgaria set to capture more of the UK holiday and property market Malta could see tourist numbers remain level or even fall in future years.
Malta Holidays
Malta missed its own target of a modest increase in tourists this summer, and there are worries on the island that the opportunity to increase...