Prime Minister Roberta Abela visited the Valletta Cruise Port where he met with the management and workers at the Great Port.
The Valletta Cruise Port operates in an area of 48,000 square metres which also includes nineteen 18th century warehouses that have been renovated and from which the port is administered.
The cruise liner industry generates over €80 million per year, with slightly less than half of this figure being direct expenditure by cruise liner passengers.
Nowadays, Grand Harbour is not only a port where passengers disembark but it is a main port where a number of tourists start and end their holidays.
During the visit, the Prime Minister Robert Abela meant the work of the workers of the Valletta Cruise Port as an important one in this time of recovery even in the touristic field.
Joined on the visit by the CEO of the Valletta Cruise Port Stephen Xuereb, the Prime Minister noted the optimism during this summer among the tourist operators after they showed resilience which is like it during a pandemic.
He explained how our country is now experiencing figures that are very close to those before the pandemic and he pointed to the fact that our country is addressing the challenge of seasonality as Malta is considered the second most country in the European Union that it attracts tourists throughout the year.
Here, Mr. Xuereb claimed that this year the Valletta Cruise Port is estimating to welcome half a million passengers and next year one is seeing a greater movement of passengers.
Prime Minister Robert Abela claimed that the trust from those involved in the tourism field leads us to invest more and incentivize new priorities in the sector.
He also mentioned the shore to ship project, an environmental project that will mean that the pollution in the air caused by ships docked in the Great Port will decrease by 90%.
Stephen Xuereb noted how the pandemic brought great challenges to the cruiseliner industry but Valletta Cruise Port fully believes in the future of the industry and is therefore also contributing to a clean air project in the Grand Port.
For the second consecutive year, Valletta Cruise Port has been nominated as the best Cruise Terminal in Europe and is also nominated as the best Cruise Terminal in the world in terms of sustainability.
Accompanying the Prime Minister in the visit was the Minister for Tourism Clayton Bartolo.
Photos: OPM
