The Hotel Juliani lobby bustled with journalists and photographers yesterday morning, as Tourism Parliamentary Secretary Mario De Marco presented hotel manager Giorgios Rouvelas with the Expedia Insiders Select Award.

The 44-room boutique hotel at Spinola Bay, which occupies the highest position among Maltese hotels featured in the Expedia award list, now proudly ranks in 29th place among the 850 hotels registered with popular booking engine Expedia.

Dr De Marco commented that an online presence was invaluable when it came to promoting Malta as a tourist destination, as there was a growing tendency for people to book independent holidays online.

As a matter of fact, 55 per cent of incoming tourists had chosen to book a holiday online last year, rather than using the services of a tour operator. This did not render the tour operator’s service redundant however, as times of recession tended to reverse this trend.

Mr Rouvelas said the hotel’s success was due to “its constant pursuit of quality” and its employees, whom he described as “a crucial asset in ensuring that guests’ expectations are met and sometimes exceeded”.

Most Maltese hotels are registered with Expedia, whose total list includes over 85,000 hotels. Four other Maltese hotels have received this award, coming in at 353, 583, 680 and 754.

Dr De Marco said that the decline in the number of visitors to the Mediterranean meant that all countries were doing their utmost to attract tourists. In view of this the Malta Tourism Authority would be investing e800,000 in online marketing and advertising.