The government is looking at developing tourism from new sources, including Asia, the Arabian Gulf and North and South America.

Answering a parliamentary question put by fellow government MP Anthony Agius Decelis, Dr Edward Zammit Lewis said that in the coming years, arrivals from core markets looked stable, whereas there was a projected growth from Nordic Countries, the Iberian Peninsula and Eastern Europe. He also said that that South America, North America, the Arabian Gulf and Asia could be high growth markets.

Dr Zammit Lewis also said the government was looking to exploit niche markets such as urban tourism, cultural tourism, sports tourism, gastro tourism, agri tourism, maritime tourism, weddings, honeymoons and hosting international conventions.

He also pointed out that in 2014, a whopping €1,528,765,000 (1.5bn) was spent by tourists in Malta according to the National Statistics Office. He said that this was a 6.1% increase over what was spent in 2013.