Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday said advertising campaigns abroad together with the provision of incentives and financial aid to ensure that low cost airlines fly from and to Malta, have helped in no small way to boost the tourism industry.

Addressing PN activists in St Julian’s as part of the Independence Day celebrations, Dr Gonzi said that between January and July this year the number of tourists went up by 7.6 per cent over the same period last year. The number of tourists who have come to Malta on cruise liners increased by 28 per cent. Dr Gonzi stressed that it was important for the people to keep their feet firmly on the ground to sustain this positive swing.

The government created initiatives in the tourism sector, not only to bring more tourists to Malta but also to have them spend more money on the island, in order to generate more jobs in the tourism and entertainment industry.

Dr Gonzi said the decision to introduce low cost airlines to Malta was timely and was bearing positive results. The low cost airlines could operate from and to Malta because the government was providing financial aid.

He recalled that opposition leader Alfred Sant had given the wrong advice when, in a speech in parliament, Dr Sant said that the arguments in favour of low cost airlines were false. Dr Gonzi said Dr Sant was now about to enter his 16th year as leader of the Labour party and these years have been characterised by wrong decisions.

Dr Sant had also advised against EU membership, which would have lost the country millions of liri and its credibility.

Dr Gonzi referred to a number of development projects which include the restoration of Mdina, the Paceville project and the new beaches in Bugibba and St Julian’s. Work on similar embellishment projects will continue at a fast pace in the coming weeks and months.

Dr Gonzi said that what distinguished the Nationalist party form the Labour Party was that while the Nationalist party promised to create more opportunities for everyone and to have the country’s wealth distributed justly, the Labour party was saying that if elected it would be the government of the few, excluding those who were not privileged.