The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) and Viset, developers and operators of the Valletta Waterfront and the Cruise Passenger Terminal, have announced a partnership collaboration.

Speaking during the signing of the agreement, MHRA president Josef Formosa Gauci, said such collaboration between Viset and the other MHRA partners could only strengthen the direction that tourism must take for the success of Malta and Gozo in this most competitive global sector. Cruise business is an important niche market for the Maltese Islands and, coupled with the hospitality sector, it has huge potential to boost the country’s economy.

Speaking on behalf of Viset, chairman Joseph Zammit Tabona and general manager Christopher Paris, said that the potential contribution of the cruise industry to Malta’s economy was much wider than many people thought. Recent data showed a contribution to Malta’s GDP by the cruise industry of about 93 million euro. However, this was only part of the picture.

The Malta Tourism Authority spends millions in advertising Malta as a holiday destination. With the cruise industry, Malta has a captive audience of about half-a-million one-day visitors, who have paid their way and are, in a very short time, exposed to the different facets of Product Malta. This is an excellent opportunity to promote Malta to these passengers to come back on a longer holiday, and for these passengers to recommend Malta to their family and friends.