Around 46,000 people travelled to Gozo over Santa Marija weekend, typically one of the busiest weekends for the sister island.

As Maltese families plan a getaway from the island over the holiday weekend, Gozo Channel Chairman Joe Cordina noted that the number of people visiting the island increased when compared to last year.

Around 11,000 more people made the trip to Gozo this year. While Cordina was satisfied with the numbers, he noted that they still hadn’t reached record levels in 2019 when around 50,000 people visited Gozo, TVM reported. 

This year’s Santa Marija public holiday fell on a Monday, making it perfect for a long weekend.

Gozo Tourism Association CEO Joe Muscat said that hotels and other places of accommodation,  registered a level of occupancy between 93% and 95%.

A rise in tourists going to Gozo was noted, while Maltese travelling to Gozo did not reach the levels of previous years. This is because most, if not all, international travel restrictions have been removed in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, making it easier for tourists to travel to Malta, and subsequently spend a weekend in Gozo.