Kevin Borg in Malta after Swedish Pop Idol success

Maltese singer Kevin Borg returned to Malta for the first time today after winning the Swedish Pop Idol contest, and said he was overwhelmed by the welcome.

Some 100 fans greeted him at the airport, along with his family and the Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism Mario de Marco.

Kevin has been designated Malta's tourism ambassador in Scandinavia by the Malta Tourism Authority, and he flew in on the first flight this year of SAS Scandinavian Airlines.

"It's great to be back," the young singer said at the airport, smiling broadly. He said he looked forward to meeting as many Maltese as possible.

The young singer will be here for a few days and will make an appearance at Exotique this evening where fans are likely to get a taste of his new album. Talks are also under way on a possible concert in Malta in August.

Dr de Marco after welcoming Kevin and praising him for his achievement, said the return of SAS was important for Malta. It was particularly significant, he said, that the airline had confirmed its return to Malta last year, at a time when oil prices were rising and airlines were shedding routes.

One of the keys for Malta's tourism growth was increased accessibility, Dr de Marco said, and this was a factor which the government and the MTA were placing strong emphasis on. Indeed, seat capacity would rise slightly in the summer.

SAS will be flying twice a week on Thursday and Sunday with the times being ideal for a long weekend in Malta or Stockholm