The Gozo Tourism Association has welcomed today’s commencement of the fast ferry service between Mgarr and Valletta, saying that “the sea connectivity has been further enhanced.”
The Association highlighted that the two operating companies will be performing between themselves 44 daily return trips Mgarr- Valletta-Mgarr. These, coupled with the 72 daily return trips being operated presently by Gozo Channel, add up to 120 daily return trips in twenty-four hours.
With the introduction of the fast ferry service, Gozo is now connected with mainland Malta through 5 return trips every hour, it said.
The Gozo Tourism Association said that, since its inception 22 years ago, has always put the inter-island connectivity as one of its main objectives, and today the Association is “satisfied” with the addition of this fast ferry service – “A service that will prove to be beneficial to the Gozitan community, as well as to the visitors to Gozo, both local and foreign.”
The Association stressed that the success of a tourism destination for an island like Gozo, depends totally on connectivity and therefore the Gozo Tourism Association urged the Government to “continue taking initiatives to improve the way to get to Gozo.”
It pointed out that the next step in this direction is the introduction of a fixed wing airlink connecting Gozo with the Malta International Airport. The GTA said that “such a service will facilitate the transfers of foreign tourists bound to Gozo as well those of the Gozitans travelling overseas.”
The Gozo Tourism Association stated that it is “confident that the Government, as in the fast ferry service, will have the political will to facilitate and offer the proper infrastructure for the introduction of the airlink between Malta and Gozo.”
The Gozo Tourism Association concluded by thanking the Minister for Gozo, the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects, Transport Malta, Infrastructure Malta and the two operators, Gozo Fast Ferry and Virtu Ferries, for making this much awaited service possible.