€ 6.5 million for two schemes dedicated to ‘Free Individual Travel’ have been launched as well as for tour operators as part of the tourism recovery plan. It is estimated that the said schemes are expected to leave over € 50 million in the Maltese economy.
This was announced at a news conference by the Minister for Tourism and Consumer Protection Clayton Bartolo.
Minister Clayton Bartolo mentioned how the aid scheme for ‘Free Individual Travel’ will be allocated € 3.5 million and which is expected to benefit more than 35,000 tourists who come to our country.
“The aim of this scheme is to target that category of tourists known as ‘Free Individual Travelers’, who choose to book their trips directly through a direct reservation system in hotels. five, four and three stars “, continued Minister Clayton Bartolo.
He added that through this scheme financial assistance of € 100 will be provided for each person booking a five star hotel, € 75 for each person booking a four star hotel, and € 50 per person booking a three-star hotel.
The scheme also specifically involves the island of Gozo – hotels in Gozo will receive an additional 10% on the financial aid that will be given to Maltese hotels.
“Simply put, hotels must participate with the same amount that the Malta Tourism Authority will be giving, ie each tourist will benefit from € 200 (€ 100.00 from the Authority and € 100 from the participating hotel) if he chooses to book inside a five star hotel, € 150 (€ 75.00 from the Authority and € 75.00 from participating hotels) if booking inside a four star hotel, and € 100 (€ 50.00 from the Authority and € 50 from the hotel participants) if they book a three-star hotel. These amounts will be spent on accommodation, food and drink or various services at the same hotel, “said Minister Clayton Bartolo.
In order for a tourist to benefit from this financial aid, he must spend a holiday of three days or more in our country. Tourists will be eligible for this scheme if booking is made through the hotel’s direct reservation system.
This scheme will be administered by the Malta Tourism Authority and each hotel will be allocated a budget relative to the number of beds to be registered one month after the launch of the same scheme. The said hotels will be asked to present a marketing plan on how this scheme will be promoted in order to attract direct bookings in the hotel direct reservation systems platforms, while in the marketing plan they propose they must indicate how it will benefit tourists.
This scheme is applicable to tourists coming from abroad and enters into force from June 2021.
Another scheme is that of € 3 million so that travel operators can generate more bookings to Malta and Gozo.
Minister Clayton Bartolo reiterated that this scheme is for travel operators who promote and sell travel packages to Gozo and Malta to tourists who will be traveling to the Maltese islands by the end of this year.
“This scheme is expected to have a strong positive impact on hotels that due to their business model depend more on tour operators. I am pleased to announce that there are already around 75 arrangements with tour operators from countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and even Eastern countries. of Europe, ”said Minister Clayton Bartolo.
He stressed that major operators including TUI, OnTheBeach, Chevron, SunSpot, FTI, TUI Germany, Carefour Voyage, Fram and VisitEurope will be fully participating in this scheme.
