Malta - low-cost airlines plan to bring 120,000 passengers

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Source: - Times of Malta

Malta - Three low-cost airlines plan to bring 120,000 passengers - minister

Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said that positive results in the three months from November last year to January this year were primarily attributable to the introduction of low-cost airlines.

In the period in question, departures rose by 5.7 per cent over the same period of 2005/06 and tourism was also 4.7 per cent higher than in the same three months of 2004/05.

Dr Zammit Dimech, speaking at the opening of the fourth edition of the Knighthood Experience, organised by MICE, the Marketing Support and Development Directorate of the Malta Tourism Authority, said that last year Ryanair introduced flights to Malta from Luton and Pisa and together with Meridiana and Centralwings they brought to Malta about 20,000 passengers.

He said that this year, besides Luton and Pisa, Ryanair is flying from Dublin. Meridiana is flying from Bologna and Germanwings is operating flights from Stuttgart and Cologne.

The three low-cost airlines are planning to bring close to 120,000 passengers.

Referring to conference and incentive travel, Dr Zammit Dimech said it is estimated that 65,000 delegates visited Malta last year, accounting for 5.8 per cent of tourist departures. Total earnings from CIT business in 2006 is estimated at Lm33 million (€76,869,322), he said.