The Hon. Mario de Marco, Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, launches the `Mellieħa - A Destination for all Seasons` brochure initiative with the Mellieha Local Council in the presence of a Cypriot Tour operator and Cypriot journalists.© MTA - Jurgen Scicluna

Mellieħa, Malta promoted throughout Cyprus

The Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, the Hon. Mario de Marco said that one of the several ways through which the government and the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) are assisting the tourism sector is that of the ‘euro for euro’ fund, wherein hotels, language schools and other tourism operators are subsidised by 50% for new or incremental advertising.

He was speaking at a launch of an initiative by the Mellieħa Local Council together with eleven hotels in the locality who availed themselves of this fund, through a publication entitled “Mellieħa - A Destination for all seasons”. This 20-page promotional booklet promotes the hotels in the Mellieħa region, as well as the various attractions and services provided in the locality. 265,000 copies of this booklet will be distributed to all households in Cyprus, and all travel agencies and tour operators on the island.

Dr de Marco said that there are 13 hotels in the Mellieħa area, comprising of around 5,000 beds or approximately 14% of all of Malta’s bedstock. He added that around 45% of all tourists visiting Malta and Gozo visit Mellieħa or places that fall within the Mellieħa locality.

The Parliamentary Secretary added that so far, over 16,000 Cypriots visited Malta this year – an increase of 46% over the same period last year – and this was thanks to the daily flight by Emirates which is connecting Malta and Cyprus. He augured that this service is nurtured further to consolidate the tourism between the two Mediterranean islands.

Dr de Marco concluded by congratulating Mellieħa Mayor Robert Cutajar and his Council for taking the initiative in this regard, and urged other hotel operators in other areas to follow up on the Mellieħa Local Council’s example and create similar initiatives that will undoubtedly be of benefit to Malta’s tourism industry and, of course, to all those living and operating in the area concerned.

Mellieħa Mayor Robert Cutajar said that the initiative was conceived and launched by the Mellieħa Local Council, in an effort to promote tourism to Malta from relatively new source markets such as Cyprus, as well as promoting tourism towards the Mellieħa area.

He added that the choice of Cyprus was a result of the twinning agreement between Mellieħa and Ayia Napa in Cyprus, a destination which has a number of similarities with Mellieħa, not least being the fact that both are tourism destinations facing various realities common to both. Thanks to this twinning agreement, the Local Council made a number of contacts in Cyprus and investigated the possibility of promoting Malta in Cyprus, as well as Cyprus in Malta.