Gozitans yesterday welcomed the Government’s plans to issue a call for expression of interest for the development of a cruise liner terminal on their island.
Details about the plans to build a terminal, unveiled by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat during Monday’s Budget speech, are still sketchy, with a Gozo Ministry spokesman confirming it is earmarked for Mġarr harbour.
Chief executive of the Gozo Tourism Association Joe Muscat said Gozo can be promoted to the cruise liner industry as a second port of call close to Malta.
“We are in favour of this since the cruise liner business in Malta is strong but Gozo is not benefiting from this,” Mr Muscat said.
His views were shared by Michael Grech, president of the Gozo Business Chamber, who said the chamber was in favour of the terminal.
It was now about waiting to see whether cruise liners would actually be interested in stopping specifically in Gozo.
But Mr Muscat was confident this would happen. Gozo, he said, would be ideal as a place to attract the smaller boutique cruise liners. The island should be sold as a second port of call just a short distance away from Malta.
Having a terminal in Gozo, he said, would lead to the strengthening of the infrastructure of the island to cater for the influx of tourists. This would mean generating jobs.
Figures released by the National Statistics Office in December showed that some 312 vessels berthed in Grand Harbour, with each liner carrying an average of 1,900 passengers. Some cruise liners sometimes berth offshore in Xlendi or Mġarr Harbour, depending on the weather. This year, Mr Muscat said, 15 cruise liners were planning to visit Gozo. The type of terminal built would dictate whether cruise liners could reach Gozo in all weather conditions.
Transport providers, souvenir shops, restaurants and tourist sites will be the main beneficiaries of such an initiative, Mr Grech added, but in the long run, hotels could benefit from return passengers.
It is not clear where exactly the terminal will be built, how many cruise liners it will cater for and when it is estimated to be up and running. Questions sent yesterday morning to the Gozo Ministry were not answered by the time of writing.
The Gozo University Group said incentives such as a cruise liner terminal and yacht marina were key in sustaining and developing the quality of life of the island, besides creating career opportunities that young Gozitans strived to achieve.