Latest statistics show that around 54% of all travellers to Malta in 2014 opted for non-package holidays, Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis has said.
He was delivering a speech at the Malta Tourism Press Awards. "Tourists in this category make up their own mind about which destination they want to visit, how to reach it, where they will stay, and what to do while they're there. The opinion of others who share their own personal experiences about a destination, whether they're professional travel writers or even simply fellow tourists, therefore assumes far greater relevance in marketing terms".
"Today, thankfully, we can consider Malta and Gozo as being a well established tourism destination".
"We are enjoying the fruits of a sustained, and nationwide effort. 2014 was a landmark year for our tourism industry as was confirmed by all relevant statistics. Malta had hosted more than 1.7 million visitors, a staggering 7.8 per cent increase over 2013. Significantly, inflows are neatly divided between tour operator business and independent travellers, while revenues have also been increasing. We have now reached a critical mass of tourism activity, and the Maltese Islands are firmly placed on the global tourism map".
The Minister said that the way Malta is positioned on the market is crucial. "The Malta Tourism Authority's portal visitmalta.com is now also available in Chinese and Turkish. With the addition of these two languages, our tourism primary destination marketing website is now available in 12 different language versions".
"Tomorrow we will be launching the National Tourism Vision and Policy document that has been the subject of an extensive consultation exercise. This initiative aims at spurring the process which will result in realigning the Malta brand with current market realities and international traveller expectations. We are looking at the long-term, sustainable development of this key sector, and our focus will be on safeguarding the positive aspects of the country's attractiveness as a tourism destination, for the benefit of both the visitors and the host population".