Drop in cruise passengers worries Labour Party
The government did not have a strategy for tourism, Labour spokesman Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca said referring to statistics showing a drop in the number of cruise passengers in January. She said that when compared to January 2009, which was bang in the middle of a recession, this year's cruise liner passengers dropped by 28 per cent.
However, she noted the positive figures released by Malta International Airport for January, which showed an increase of seven per cent in the number of people who passed through the airport.
The contrasting figures, she added, belied the government's lack of strategy for the sector, an assertion denied by the Tourism Parliamentary Secretariat.
Reacting to Dr Coleiro Preca's remarks, the secretariat said the government had a national strategy for tourism and this was drafted some time ago but the opposition refrained from giving its contribution.
The secretariat explained that the January drop in cruise liner passengers was a result of bad weather, which prevented a ship from berthing in Malta. "Had the ship berthed, the number of cruise passengers would have surpassed 11,000, which compares well to the 12,580 passengers that came to Malta in January last year," the secretariat said.
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J.Hartmann
Feb 25th 2010, 20:09
It is also very noticeable that not only cruise lines as getting fewer and fewer and i dare say this trend will continue but my main worry is that many retired foreigners are now looking for other mediterranean destinations to invest in properties and retire, as many at least here in lovely Gozo are leaving by the hundreds due ofcourse mainly of the bad sterling exchange rate but also things ain't what the used to be, one reason comes to mind the local hospice/come pharmacy still needs to be updated and invest and make sure that all medication is at hand and not have to wait, this is one of their main arrugments plus the quality of the local's driving habits and ofcourse the jump in prices for investments and renting properties. apart from all this i love Gozo, but nothing here for the youngsters only for the old age pensioners and then maybe whats left if the ex-pats still reside here.