Minister for Tourism and Consumer Protection Julia Farrugia Portelli announced that January was the strongest ever in tourism history, with 418,000 passengers having passed through Malta International Airport during that month.

The Minister was speaking during the Annual General Meeting of the Gozo Tourism Association, which was also attended by the Minister for Gozo Clint Camilleri.

The Tourism Minister stressed that this figure was equivalent to that of the best peak season month of 10 years ago.

She went on to say that Gozo has become a natural choice for tourists visiting our country and praised the positive results, with an increase, the Minister said, of 113% in nights spent over the last 10 years.

The Minister also mentioned that these positive results are thanks to the collaborative work of the Gozo Tourism Association, together with the Malta Tourism Authority and ITS Gozo, adding that she was looking forward to creating new projects with the Ministry for Gozo, to attract more tourists to the island, such as in the agri-tourism industry.

Minister for Gozo Clint Camilleri said that the tourism industry for Gozo is not just a simple economic contributor, but the main driver for Gozo’s economy.

He said that the wealth created by this industry means that it is our duty and responsibility to ensure that this economic contributor is sustained in the coming years.

The Minister attributed Gozo’s success to two main factors: (1) government vision, a plan and a commitment to perform tirelessly, and (2) the Gozitan population working hard, and despite its size, Gozo has seen 1.7 million people a year visit the island. “This is about 50 times the size of the Gozitan population, such figures testify to the great importance of tourism in Gozo,” said Minister Camilleri.

He praised the Cultural Heritage Directorate’s efforts to organise and manage the variety of activities which, he said, keeps Gozo alive throughout the year and attracts tourism to the island.

Clint Camilleri concluded his speech by saying that he will “continue to work tirelessly to ensure that Gozo is the destination of choice for most locals and tourists.”

MGOZ/Terry Camilleri

Permalink: January was strongest ever in tourism history, positive results for Gozo – Minister