“2007 has been the best year for the tourism sector in our country. A year during which there has been an increase of 10 per cent in the number of tourists visiting our islands, and we have broken one record after the other,” Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech yesterday, while on a tour of various hotels and restaurants in Valletta and Sliema.

Minister Zammit Dimech explained that the increase in tourism resulted from the different measures taken by the government – the largest measure introduced being the introduction of low cost carriers which started operation in October 2006 and continued introducing new routes. “There was an increase of 10.8 per cent in the number of flights, and the passengers also increased by 10.3 per cent. This is a clear indication that if you have more flights available, the tourists do come,” he said.

Statistics published yesterday by the National Statistics Office demonstrate that this November 82,474 tourists visited Malta, that is, an increase of 10,938 tourists or 15.3 per cent, compared to the same month last year. The biggest increase of 5,327 tourists was from the United Kingdom. Another considerable increase of 2,894 or 65.8% was registered from Scandinavian countries. (See report on page 4).

“The government, the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA), the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) and all the stakeholders involved achieved these results by working together. However, it is especially thanks to the workers’ service in the sector without which these results could not have been possible,” concluded Minister Zammit Dimech while visiting the Phoenicia Hotel in Floriana.

The minister’s tour started at the Castille Hotel in Valletta and took him to the Phoenicia Hotel in Floriana, the Waterfront Hotel in Gzira and various restaurants at the Valletta Waterfront. The activity was organised by the MHRA, and he was accompanied by MHRA chairman Joseph Formosa Gauci, MHRA CEO George Schembri and MTA Chairman Sam Mifsud.