WATCH: Tourism Minister Tells CNN: ‘Malta Is The Safest Destination In Europe’
With Malta set to re-open its doors to tourists in the coming days, Tourism Minister Julia Farrugia Portelli is pitching the island as “the safest destination in Europe”.
Farrugia Portelli was invited as a guest on CNN’s show Quest Means Business, run by veteran journalist Richard Quest.
And she said Malta’s success in containing COVID-19 since closing its borders last March means it is well-prepared to start welcoming tourists as of 1st July.
“Malta was one of the very first few countries who pledged and put forward the argument of having safe corridors,” she said. “Other countries followed but we saw a fragmented approach throughout the world. We’re an island that depends highly on tourism; the total input related to tourism goes up to 30% of our economy so we really depend on incoming tourism.”
“We put coronavirus first when we had the first issues popping up in February, and Malta was the very first European country to close its borders. We weren’t afraid to do so, despite tourism being high up on our agenda,”
“Our number one aim way back in February was to contain the virus, and I believe Malta is the safest destination in Europe to welcome tourists on 1st and later, on 15th July.”
Farrugia Portelli noted that over 90,000 swab tests have been carried out since March, equivalent to a quarter of Malta’s population.
“I believe Malta’s success story is a result of us having invested heavily in testing. One in every five people have got tested and only nine have died over the past few months. We’re ready, prepared and our system is well-geared to start welcoming tourists in eight days time.”
Malta’s airport will partially reopen on 1st July, with flights operating to and from Italy (except Emilia Romagna, Lombardy, and Piemonte), France (except Ile de France), Spain (except Madrid, Catalonia, Castilla-La Mancha, and Castilla y Leon in Spain), Poland (except Katowice), Iceland, Slovakia, Cyprus, Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, Switzerland, Estonia, Denmark, Hungary, Austria, Luxembourg, Germany, Czechia, Ireland, and Finland.
Travellers arriving directly from the countries and regions on this list will not be required to observe a 14-day quarantine but will be asked to declare that they had lived in the country of origin for at least four weeks prior to travelling. Guests will also be asked to fill in a passenger locator form, which would enable the health authorities to trace them swiftly should the need arise.
On 15th July, Malta’s airport is set to open to all destinations without restrictions.
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