Since my boyhood days in the 1960s living next door to the much loved actor and operatic baritone, the late Josie Coppini, I have associated Malta with filming and photography. The islands’ wonderful light, sea colour, coastal scenery and historic built environment are assets hard to surpass in sucha small compass, not forgettingthe artistic, night sky and sub-aqua dimensions.

I am delighted to see the Visit Malta website and the private sector capitalising on Malta’s record of film locations. It is great fun to visit them and, as an amateur photographer, be guided by the professionals’ eye for camera angles. With their steer, one goes home with much better holiday photographs.

Here in the UK, we are seeing the Poldark boost to Cornish tourism, visitors taking in the maritime scenery of this TV series. Malta has it in spades. Picking one film among dozens, the Count of Monte Cristo (2002), my seeing Comino tower lent amazing realism to the Chateau d’If, and what a beautiful setting.

Film posters of Maltese scenes are sought-after souvenirs to take home to frame and are easy to pack.

For Malta, the time is ripe for the production of a film location map. Viewpoint trails and photography schedules detailing site, season and time of day help capture cultural events, floral colour and the subject in best lighting conditions.

Visiting film locations makes for an activity holiday with great photographs to send to one’s relatives and friends, a self-promoting sector of the tourist industry. Given the challenges to the Maltese economy from Brexit, the increasing cost of jet fuel and upheavals in today’s world, the film industry presents heaven-sent opportunities.