Frank Salt Real Estate Limited participated in three property exhibitions in Belgium in September and in the United Kingdom in September and October.

Despite the fact that most of the clients who visited the stand in Belgium, have never been to Malta, considerable interest was shown in purchasing property as an investment or retirement home. “It is a pity there is no sufficient awareness in Belgium and in other EU countries of Malta’s attractiveness to retirees, particularly due to its favourable rate of tax,” said managing director, Joseph Lupi. “Our country will benefit tremendously if these people come over and settle here,” he said. Particular interest was shown in Gozitan properties by Belgian nationals.

Grahame Salt who managed the two exhibitions in the UK, together with one of the company’s UK associates, reported a good attendance at both fairs. “While in the UK, we reported that unlike other competing countries, there was a lack of awareness of Malta and Gozo. Some visitors actually came across Malta by accident. The Maltese Islands have to be marketed constantly as a holiday and retirement destination by all operators in the field, and these include the government, as well as the developers who spend millions on these developments and hardly anything on marketing them. There is a limit to how much we can do as agents,” said Mr. Salt.

Generally, the company registered enquiries for all types of property throughout Malta and Gozo and a number of inspection visits were also set during the exhibitions.

Other countries participating in the fair included Spain, Turkey, Portugal, France and Cyprus.