Good news for the holiday island of Malta has come in droves recently, following a period of decline in visitor numbers. Commenting upon the findings, a local travel guide says that while the spending per passenger while in Malta is small compared to holidaymakers, it’s an important contribution to the island’s economy.

‘The spend is estimated at around US $10,000,000. And while this represents an average of around $40 a passenger, and holidaymakers spend considerably more, an important factor is that over 80 per cent of passengers would consider stopping at Malta again, and potentially that’s a good number who would consider a land based holiday in the future.’

The good news for Malta doesn’t stop at increased numbers of cruise passengers, as low cost airlines have recently started flying to the island.

‘It’s been a while since we’ve been able to say this,’ comments YourMalta, ‘but there are exciting times ahead for the Malta holiday industry. As well as the good news on passenger numbers from cruise ships, low cost airlines have started flying in passengers and it should boost the number of new tourists quite significantly in 2007.’ Read the rest of this entry »