The first edition of the Valletta Shopping Festival is being held this week, 70 commercial outlets in the capital city joining forces to offer special discounts for shoppers.
The festival opens today and runs until 5 October, and will also see participating outlets remain open until 9pm between 3-5 October. The dates were chosen to coincide with Notte Bianca, which takes place on 4 October.
The event is an initiative of the Republic Street Business Community Association, but the participating shops include outlets outside of Valletta's main thoroughfare.
RSBCA president Paul Fenech said that the ultimate aim of the festival was to provide a boost to Valletta's commercial outlets. The participating outlets will also be involved in a number of promotions, including a daily lottery through which shoppers can win €200 vouchers.
Mr Fenech remarked that cooperation between the association and the government has been bearing fruit, noting how the Controlled Vehicular Access system has been revised to enable shoppers to park in Valletta free of charge after 1:30pm. He also noted that the price of the Park and Ride system has been reduced from €2 to €0.40, and that the traffic flow in Valletta has been revised to simplify access to the upper part of the city
But he said that other initiatives should also be considered, including a lift in the Marsamxett side of Valletta and parking spaces in St James Ditch, although he stressed that a garden beneath City Gate would be appropriate.
Valletta mayor Alexiei Dingli noted that the capital had once more become Malta's top shopping destination during the Christmas season, but emphasised that the council was not satisfied: it wanted the city to be the first choice for Maltese shoppers throughout the year.
He noted how other initiatives which have taken place in Valletta, including Notte Bianca and the New Year festivities, had started out as a gamble which turned out to be very successful.
The event is supported by the Valletta 2018 Foundation, whose chairman Jason Micallef emphasised the importance of the economic regeneration of Valletta, along with the city's social and cultural regeneration.
Economy Minister Chris Cardona similarly pointed out that there was a synergy between promoting Valletta as a commerce destination and promoting it as a centre of culture and entertainment, and said that despite concerns that Valletta was "dying," a turnaround has been achieved.
Dr Cardona also noted that retail outlets were seeing internet shopping to be a serious challenge, and said that the government was not only committed to help local retailers overcome it, but even assist them to transform the challenge into an opportunity.