SAS to fly to Malta twice-weekly from Stockholm

During a visit to the newly extended Hilton hotel, which took place on the 4th of November, Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism Dr Mario de Marco announced that the airline SAS will start flying to Malta as of the end of March.

This followed in the wake of the news that the budget for 2009 had allocated more funds for new low-cost routes. He also announced an international call for flights to Leeds, Newcastle and Bristol in the UK.

Dr de Marco spoke of the extension at the Hilton, which increased the bed stock by 220 beds and required a 27 million Euro investment. Private invested will have added 600 new beds by the end of 2008 with a further 600 planned for 2009. He also highlighted the importance of the investment made by the government in this sector, especially in view of the fact that 8% of Maltese employees work in this sector and tourist spend is estimated at about 855 million Euro.

The Parliamentary Secretary, insisted that all concerned with the tourism industry, need to work together consistently to ensure success in these challenging economic times. He mentioned that IATA estimates that the airline industry will have lost around 5 billion dollars. Malta’s core markets have been hit by recession and we need to be able to offer competitive prices and continue to improve our tourism product all round. In view of this, he said he would be meeting with the stakeholders to make sure that they work together with the Government and the MTA on how to make best use of these funds and the plans for the future.

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DOI press release Link