More than 28,000 Maltese travelled to Gozo over the weekend using free tickets on the ferry.

Estimated to cost taxpayers €250,000, this one-off freebie organised by the Gozo Ministry was by far the biggest ever exodus of Maltese to Gozo.

No more than 14,000 people usually cross the channel over a weekend, even at peak season.

Gozo was chock-a-block and some restaurants had to refuse diners after running out of food.

The aim of the initiative was to attract visitors and boost the Gozo economy at a time of year when business is traditionally slow.

However, the money saved on the Gozo Channel ticket may have been spent on fuel as thousands of returning commuters ended up stuck in queues of cars that snaked all the way from Mġarr, past Għajnsielem and Xewkija and on to Victoria in Gozo. There was a two to three-hour wait to return to Malta on Sunday evening, while the traffic on the way up had also been very heavy at times.

The event was a huge success as it even lured those who had never set foot on the island

Thousands went up for the weekend but with the sun beckoning the majority opted for a day trip on Sunday.

Such was the length of the queue that the free offer had to be extended till 2am on Monday, when the Mġarr quay was devoid of the usual weekend travellers.

One commuter told Times of Malta she joined the queue in Victoria at 5pm and only got home in Malta at 2am.

Gozo Channel chairman Joe Cordina said the demand was unexpected. “We were not expecting such a turnout. We were envisaging perhaps some 5,000 more than usual, not double.”

The ferries were operating on a shuttle service. The company is still working out the extra costs incurred over this weekend – “mostly in overtime” – but all expenses will be refunded by the government. Gozo Business Chamber president Michael Grech described the event “as a huge success”, which lured even those who had never set foot on the island.

“Money was definitely generated: people stopped to refuel, for a coffee, a spot of lunch. I’m sure the government garnered very good revenue out of this initiative.

“In actual effect the ferry is our roadway... and people have to pay to use that road. So the fact it was free made it very enticing.”

Mr Grech said some retailers reported a 100 per cent increase of revenue over other weekends while in Marsalforn restaurants had to turn diners away because they ran out of meat and fish.

Philip Spiteri of Kartell said his restaurant was serving lunch until 5pm – although regular customers had called in to cancel when they heard about the free crossing.

He hailed the initiative as “very positive” but said maybe a lesson could be learnt from the exodus.

“I felt sorry for those who had to wait in the long queues – we’ve never seen anything like this in Gozo, it was truly unbelievable.”

He suggested that next time the money spent should be split up over three or four occasions.

“That way we’d be able to have weekend specials, with the Maltese paying the same rates as Gozitans.”

He chided the Gozitans who complained about “being besieged by Maltese”.

“It would be silly of Gozitans to complain: we really have to understand how this was important for tourism in Gozo,” Mr Spiteri said.

The Gozo Tourism Association also reported good business for hotels and restaurants, hoping that the free weekend would “open up opportunities” to extend the season through the winter months.

Gozo Minister Anton Refalo, who thanked all those involved, particularly Gozo Channel and the police, promised further initiatives to promote the island.

We all love a bargain

A standard ferry ticket costs less than €5, yet people braved the long queues just to avoid having to fork out the money.

According to psychologist Edward Curmi this was related to the mentality of populism. “People like feeling special,” he said.

He said this has nothing to do with class.

“Various people from all social strata queue up at cheap supermarkets for bargains. It gives people a little excitement to know they can get a good deal. It’s like you’ve managed to fool the system,” said Dr Curmi, author of the book Common Sense.

He pointed out that when things were free there was usually still a hidden price. “Like this Sunday you had to queue for a long time.”

Some people took up free offers because they would feel anxious about losing out, he added.

“They fear they will miss out on something. It’s the reason why you see people taking an extra McDonald’s meal even if they don’t feel like it.”

This attitude is not specific to the Maltese, he said.

“It’s human nature; marketing strategies are based on creating what you call mass panic in people.”