A lucky recipient, who arrived in the Port of Valletta aboard MSC Meraviglia, was selected as the 700,000th passenger and given the opportunity to return to Malta in the near future with a 3-day break inclusive of flights for two persons, courtesy of the Malta Tourism Authority.
The Minister for Tourism, the Hon. Dr Konrad Mizzi said, ‘So far this year 700,000 cruise passengers have experienced entering the Grand Harbour and visited Malta. Government is committed to continue to work with the Valletta Cruise Port to ensure our offering is competitive and that our product continuously improves.’
Stephen Xuereb, ceo of Valletta Cruise Port and coo of Global Ports Holding, said, ‘this marks a momentous milestone for Valletta Cruise Port, currently celebrating its 15th anniversary, and Malta.’
Carlo Micallef, chief marketing officer of the Malta Tourism Authority, commented: ‘beyond the injection of income that each cruise ship visit generates, there is also the positive contribution of showcasing some of the highlights of our Islands to day trippers and often also to their social media network. Apart from the resultant promotion of our Islands, surveys have shown that many cruise passengers are intrigued to return to Malta and Gozo for a longer holiday soon after.’
Valletta is anticipating closing the year 2017 with record passenger movements of approximately 780,000, aboard 340 cruise calls, with 2018 expected to be on the same levels. The cruise industry contributed over €94m to the local economy in 2016.
P&O Cruises and TUI Cruises use Valletta for homeporting, the latter for seven consecutive seasons.
Valletta Cruise Port is hosting MedCruise’s General Assembly in May 2018, in a year that Valletta will be bestowed the title of European Capital of Culture.
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