Bank of Valletta said it is enhancing its commitment towards the development of the tourism sector through the Interest Rate Subsidy Scheme. The Maltese Government, through Malta Enterprise is subsidizing the interest rates on bank business loans to restaurants and hotels for refurbishment and expansion projects. Bank of Valletta, through its EU and SME Desk is assisting its customers in benefitting from this scheme.

Presently, BOV said it is financing over EUR 245 million worth of tourism related projects. The Bank’s has assisted tourism operators’ benefit from EU Structural Funds by its financing and co-financing tourism packages and value-added services to enhance Malta’s competitiveness within the tourism sector. The Bank is now committed to offer its expertise to its customers to tap into lower interest rates on borrowing through the Malta Enterprise Scheme.

Prospects for the Tourism Sector

Tourism contributed over EUR 1.1 billion towards the local economy in 2010 with over 1.3 million visitors to our islands. Malta International Airport registered a 14.9% increase in passenger movement during January 2011 over the same period last year. The increase in airline seat capacity both from legacy and local cost carriers have contributed towards the generation of these positive results. Prospects for further positive results for 2011 depend on seat capacity and the economic performance in our source markets particularly with the implementation of austerity measures by European States.

For more information, please contact BOV’s EU and SME desk on 2275 5779, 2275 3303 or via e-mail on victoria.azzopardi@bov.com or peter.sant@bov.com.

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