Prime Minister Robert Abela visited the works that are taking place at the new ITS Campus in Smart City.

The new campus will be able accommodate 2,500 students, which is double the amount that ITS are accepting today, a government statement read. It will include 58 classes, 21 specialised laboratories, an indoor pool and a sports centre, three restaurants, three bars, a cafeteria, and a library.

It will also offer new specialised courses which it was unable to offer on the old campus as there was not enough space. It will also have the necessary facilities for more than 300 staff members, with 400 parking spaces and a hall that can accommodate more than 300 people.

The campus is being co-financed by European funds with an investment of €60 million.

Abela said that this investment will improve Malta's tourism product. He said that Malta is able to achieve something like this because of its strong economy.

"This investment shows that as a government we want tourism to be the main pillar of the Maltese economy which offers new opportunities for students," he said.

When talking about recovering the tourism sector after the challenging months that Covid brought about, he said that up until September 1.8 million tourists had come to Malta this year and have spent €1.5 billion. He added that this year the sector has also seen an increase of 700 part-time jobs.

Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo was also present, and he spoke about how this building will support the existing demand that there is in this industry by training local human resources.

"We believe that this campus will offer a strong foundation which will continue to encourage more young people to choose hospitality as a main career," Bartolo said.

CEO of ITS Pierre Fenech reiterated that this investment will provide the possibility for ITS to continue investing in new and innovative courses.

He said that over the last three years, ITS has seen a record number of new students but he believes that this will continue to grow once they move to the new campus.

"We already have commitments from a number of foreign institutions, that want to send their students to continue their studies in Malta," he said.