As expectations soar among Gozitans working in the leisure and accommodation industry, the coming week’s Santa Marija mass exodus from Malta to Gozo was described by Joe Muscat, secretary of the Gozo Tourism Association (GTA), as “one to die for and the aim is to try to prolong it as much as possible”.
“Being right at the peak of our tourist season, almost all facilities providing accommodation are now fully booked, but we are expecting a better turnout than we did last year, particularly since the trend regarding tourism to the country in general also seems to be better than it was last year,” said Mr Muscat.
This was confirmed by a Gozo Channel spokesman who said the number of passengers crossing between the two islands between January and July this year increased by 8.2 per cent over the same period last year, while the number of vehicles increased by 10 per cent.
The spokesman said that judging by the number of passengers and vehicles crossing between Malta and Gozo over the first week of this month, it is expected that the positive trend would continue, particularly next week.
The GTA secretary said that considering the tourist sector’s short peak season and “unsustainable winter”, Gozitans looked forward to the Santa Marija holiday season with enthusiasm and the fact that this year the popular feast happens to fall on a Wednesday was a plus point.
“We have a variety of bookings, since people chose to take two days off before, or after the feast, or on all four days with two weekends in between, which is certainly good news for us”.
GTA is only slightly worried about the unfinished work at the Mgarr terminal, which could cause some chaos for the influx of tourists crossing back to Malta.
However, Mr Muscat said he was confident that the traffic management system coordinated by the Gozo Ministry, police, wardens, local councils, the Malta Maritime Authority and Gozo Channel Company Limited, should allow for proper traffic flow.
Asked whether the state of other roads made the island a welcoming holiday destination for international and internal tourists alike, Mr Muscat said the GTA noted improvements in the state of the roads as they were now and the way they were during the same period last year.
He pointed out the Victoria-San Lawrenz arterial road, the road leading to Dwejra and Ramla Bay as the main roads that were in dire need of attention and that have now been resurfaced, although the road leading to Ramla was not completely done yet.
As Gozo Channel also gears up for a higher number of people crossing between the two islands at the peak of the holiday season, the company spokesman said that a shuttle service according to demand at any particular time would operate in order to ensure efficiency at all times.
The company’s three ferries will operate to their full capacity to meet the expected heavy demand. Gozo Channel’s summer schedule may be viewed at www.gozochannel.com.