Asia is a growing tourism source market for Malta, and numbers are expected to inflate further on the back of air network improvements that better connect the globe’s east with the central Mediterranean country.
Qatar Airways will recommence flights to Malta this July with a four-times-weekly connection between Doha’s Hamad International Airport and Malta International Airport.
“We’re very happy to have Qatar Airways back to Malta. It provides an important gateway to Malta from Asia and Australia,” said Carlo Micallef, chief executive officer at Malta Tourism Authority, adding that Asian access is currently supported by Emirates, which flies daily from Dubai with a stop in Larnaca, and LOT Polish Airlines.
“At this point, our connection with Asia – China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia – is very good,” he remarked. This has helped to lift Asian arrivals “steadily”.
“It is our strategy to invest more in Asia so that we have a better balance of arrivals from different markets around the world. At the moment, we have about 50,000 arrivals from the whole of Asia. I think it can grow to give us 150, 000 to 200,000,” said Micallef.
He sees strong promise in China and Singapore – and any Asian countries that do not need a visa to enter Malta.
Malta Tourism Authority intensifying engagements with Asian travel agencies are paying off, with “some nice groups from Thailand, China, and other Asian countries” along with an uptick in leisure and business travel enquiries for Maltese inbound players.
Micallef emphasised that Malta is ideal for Asian travellers wanting a slow travel experience in a small but very vibrant destination.
“It takes less than one hour to go from point to point in Malta, but we are like a zip file – you open it and out comes so many layers to discover,” he opined.
Travellers, he said, could easily explore Malta and stay in quality hotels, boutique properties, apartments, and guesthouses anywhere, not only in the main areas of Valletta, Sliema, St Julian, or St Paul’s Bay.
“Travellers can go into the small villages, stay in a guesthouse with 15 or 20 rooms, have tea with the locals, go with them to collect strawberries in the fields, milk a goat and make some cheese, or taste local wine,” he said, adding that the experience is “all very real and natural”.
To present the best of Malta to more Asians, the tourism board is developing its fly-cruises offerings, introducing off-peak travel ideas for the winter months between November and April, and offering fam trip opportunities to Asian travel planners so that they can “see it and believe it”.
Passengers will now be greeted with a welcome aperitif, accompanied by traditional Swiss Sbrinz cheese, immediately after reaching cruising altitude, a nod to Swiss “apéro” culture. The main meal offerings have been revamped with new culinary creations, and the pre-landing meal is now served on a tray or in a reusable bento box.
