Malta Expects 1.8 Million Tourist Arrivals This Year
Such a statement from the Tourism Authority of Malta comes just as the country decided to relax its COVID-19 restrictions, AtoZSerwisPlus.mt reports.
According to the Times of Malta, the CEO of Malta International Airport, Alan Borg, said that the country’s tourism industry is expected to reach the levels registered in 2015. Nonetheless, it is still unclear whether Malta will be able to reach the 2019 levels as it currently stands 35 per cent below.
Borg explains that other European destinations, such as Portugal, Spain, Cyprus, and Croatia, have been registering more positive trends, thus suggesting that the country needs to attract more travellers.
Malta facilitated its COVID-19 entry rules for all travellers on May 2. Since then, all travellers have been able to enter Malta without having to complete the Passenger Locator Form.
In addition, the same dropped the face mask requirement. This means that travellers are no longer required to keep a face mask on when accessing different public places and events in Malta.
Apart from the above-mentioned, Malta has also decided to no longer classify other countries as red or dark red. Since there are no longer categorisations of countries, travellers do not need a pre-travel authorisation by the Superintendent of Public Health.
>> Malta Further Relaxes Its COVID-19 Travel Restrictions
The decision of Malta to relax its entry rules follows the infection and vaccination rates. The World Health Organization (WHO) shows that Malta has reported only 987 new COVID-19 infection cases in the last seven days.
Moreover, as for the vaccination rates, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) shows that Malta has administered a total of 1,208,355 vaccine doses ad of May 5. The same further reveals that 93.8 per cent of the entire adult population in Malta has completed primary vaccination, and another 79.9 per cent has received a booster shot.
Nonetheless, travellers should keep in mind that despite dropping some of its rules, Malta still requires travellers to present valid COVID-19 proof. All travellers reaching Malta are required to hold a vaccination, recovery, or test certificate in order to be permitted entry to the country without having to follow any additional measures.
Just like the other countries, Malta also applies a validity period on all COVID passes. The vaccination pass should be issued within the last nine months, whereas the recovery pass should be issued within the last six months. As for the negative tests, the PCR test must be taken 72 hours prior to arrival, and the rapid antigen test must be taken 24 prior to arrival in Malta.
