The Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, Mario de Marco launched the Malta Military Heritage Trail by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna (FWA) at the Saluting Battery in Valletta on Wednesday.

Dr de Marco said, “The Military Heritage Trail is another initiative in a number of projects which NGOs like Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna have embarked upon and which greatly contribute to enhance and diversify our tourism product – not only for tourists – but more importantly for us to appreciate better the rich cultural heritage we can enjoy.”

Dr de Marco referred to the fact that last year, more than 2 million people (2,055,357) visited museums and historical sites, an increase of 6 percent over the previous year. Out of these, more than 200,000 visited the Saluting Battery at the Upper Barrakka Gardens, 15,000 visited the Malta at War Museum in Couvre Porte, Vittoriosa and some other 28,000 visited Fort Rinella in Kalkara, These three destinations are the three attractions administered by FWA forming part of the Military Heritage Trail launched today.

“This is helping those who visit us get a unique experience, visiting historical attractions which form an essential part of Malta’s chequered history, enabling them to experience Malta – the tradition, culture and history of what makes us Maltese.”

Dr de Marco also praised FWA for the fact that this initiative is the end result of a part-financed European Union project entitled “Futourism” which focused on best ways of improving visitor experiences in the different fields of one’s own tourism product. This project formed part of Interreg IIIC (South) programme and brought together partners from five EU countries namely France, Slovenia, Ireland, Greece and Malta. Dr de Marco concluded by saying that it is imperative for the tourism industry to keep on finding ways of how to renew and enhance the product offered to those who visit Malta. He added that the commitment of FWA and other similar organisations to assist in making a number of our heritage sites accessible to the public and tourists is a commendable one and government supports similar initiatives.

FWA Chairman and CEO, Mr Mario Farrugia said that Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna is launching this new visitor-oriented initiative in the form of a daily heritage trail that links a number of military heritage attractions together in such a way that it encourages visitors to move from one to the next.

The sites in question are the Saluting Battery in Valletta which serves as the starting point for the trail, the Malta at War Museum in Couvre Porte Vittoriosa and Fort Rinella in Kalkara. Other sites of similar heritage interest and which are currently being restored by FWA will be added at a later stage.

He added that to make the trail easy to follow, free transport is offered starting at given times of the day. This makes it possible for one to follow a schedule inclusive of three guided tours, two film-shows and two historical re-enactments in a day although one can still do the trail on separate dates. The same free transport takes patrons back to Valletta from where the trail starts. The trail is also meant to be easily followed by bus or own transport too using the trail’s informative map which is freely available at all hotels and tourist information offices. A reduced multi-site ticket is available to cover the trail.

“Through this experience, FWA aims at making it easier to attract more foreign visitors to the Cottonera area. The whole concept behind the operation of this trail is that of facilitating visitorship and offering a long-lasting experience through a combination of expert guiding, hands-on facilities and live-re-enactments at fringe heritage sites which are not always easy to get to,” concluded Mr Farrugia.

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