PRESS RELEASE BY THE OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTRY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TOURISM Repositioning tourism to strengthen Malta’s socioeconomic resilience

Deputy Prime Minister Ian Borg discusses Malta Vision 2050 with tourism industry stakeholders

By looking beyond volumes towards a selective approach that attracts more discerning visitors seeking unique Maltese and Gozitan experiences, the Malta Vision 2050 is repositioning tourism to continue supporting Malta's socioeconomic resilience.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Ian Borg, highlighted the importance of this repositioning towards higher values, resilience and sustainability, during a meeting with tourism industry stakeholders to discuss the Malta Vision 2050, which was announced for public consultation earlier this year.

Dr Borg reminded that tourism continues to be a major pillar of Malta's economic and social life, with benefits extending well beyond those directly employed in the industry, to many other sectors of the economy. Tourism also ensures Malta's robust connectivity with the rest of the world, while generating the required critical mass of consumers to support its thriving and diversified socioeconomic ecosystem.

“In coming years, tourism will need to continue repositioning, going beyond the attraction of volumes to a more selective approach that presents destination Malta and Gozo to travellers who truly seek what makes Malta unique and distinct from its competitors," the Deputy Prime Minister explained, “and such tourists can help us valorise, preserve and invest further in these unique elements, ensuring their long-term preservation. They would also be willing to assign a greater value to their Malta experiences, with a superior financial injection into the economy."

Through this repositioning, tourism will continue to play a crucial role towards a more resilient socioeconomic fabric, which is what the Malta Vision is all about, Dr Borg added.

The Permanent Secretary for coordination and implementation of the Malta Vision 2050, Ronald Mizzi, said that while tourism is usually one of the indicators of economic progress, the Malta Vision 2050 embraces quality of life as its economic indicator of success. “This industry lies at the heart of the Vision as it links up to its four main pillars, whether we are discussing economic sustainability, providing citizen centred services, ensuring a resilient country or smart land and sea usage. All this revolves around the quality of life and with regards to tourism we envision growth; both in terms of quality of tourist niches, as well as in the experience we offer as a country," he stated.

Friday's meeting was also addressed by the Chief Executive Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Malta Tourism Authority, Carlo Micallef and Leslie Vella, economist Dr Jonathan Spiteri, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, Andrew Agius Muscat.