The Gozo Ministry said that 35,000 people crossed over from Malta to Gozo for the long weekend, which included a public holiday on Monday.

Between Friday and Tuesday, 14,500 vehicles crossed the channel.

This showed that Gozo remained a favoured destination among the Maltese who wanted a few days of rest.

The ministry said that as from Thursday, the vessel Nikolaos will be back in service to increase the fleet to four.

Very good feedback from farmhouses and self-catering apartments, good but slow feedback from hotels: Gozo Tourism Association

Over the extended weekend, the self-catering sector, such as farmhouses and apartments registered good occupancies and received good feedback, whilst on the other hand hotels reported good occupancies, but still slower than self-catering, Gozo Tourism Association’s CEO Joe Muscat told The Malta Independent.

This newsroom contacted Muscat regarding the overall feedback the Association received from the tourism sector. Last weekend, which was the first extended weekend of the summer, especially after the coronavirus pandemic, saw 35,000 people cross over from Malta to Gozo. 

Muscat explained that hotels saw smaller numbers than self-catering sector for a number of reasons. “Hotels have only opened recently in Gozo, and some might feel safer in self-catering accommodation because you are isolated and not amongst others who you do not know,” said Muscat. He added that restaurants too registered very good numbers. 

When asked whether last weekend was a one-off, Muscat said that there has been a good influx of Maltese coming to Gozo prior to the long weekend, but that the extended weekend at the beginning of summer helped bring more Maltese to the sister island. 

On Wednesday saw the airport finally reopen after closing for nearly three months, and Muscat said that the Association expect to see a rise in numbers, but not on the same level as previous years. “I believe that this year we will see more domestic tourism than in previous years, and we are already seeing that some Maltese are decided to stay over during the week, and not just on weekends.”