Malta’s hotel and restaurant industry has been given a crucial lifeline with the announcement that the country will reopen its airport and ports on the 1st of July.

“We can see some light at the end of the tunnel,” Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association’s President Tony Zahra told Lovin Malta.

“We are happy that this is happening and would like to concentrate on the summer season now.”

Last week, hotels, restaurants and other non-essential retail stores reopened their doors after a two-month absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hotels, restaurants, and non-essential outlets are all subject to strict preventative measures like rigorous cleaning and the mandatory use of PPEs.

“We’ve been saying all along that we need to reopen the airport, our target date was the 15th of June but we will have to settle for the 1st of July.” Zahra continued.

“It’s a big lifeline for the industry which accounts for 30% of Malta’s GDP.”

With Malta planning to reopen its borders for international travel, the country’s tourism industry can begin the road to recovery.

“One thing is certain, we stand a chance to salvage the summer season.” 

In an interview this morning, Robert Abela also announced that the government will be lifting more COVID-19 restrictions tomorrow. The measures will be effective from Friday 5th June.

Malta has no new cases of COVID-19 today with nine more recoveries. 

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