Last year's record year in tourism was largely due to the increased number of routes to Malta, tourism parliamentary secretary Mario de Marco said today.

Speaking at a seminar organised by the Tourism Studies Association, Dr de Marco said that from 57 routes in 2009, the number of routes had shot up to 76, which included new destinations such as Turin, Naples, Oslo and Copenhagen.

This in turn was accompanied by a 40 per cent in tourists from Scandinavia and a rise in tourism from Italy, which last year was second only to the UK.

When a new route opens, it is accompanied by more promotion in the country where the route is being added. However this can't be done just by the government and the tourism authority, and hotels also had to pull their weight, especially now that the marked had shifted to independent travel rather than package holidays, Dr de Marco said.

The parliamentary secretary also spoke on the importance Air Malta, the national carrier has, not only for tourism, but also for the manufacturing and the finance industry, among others.

"Government needs Air Malta," Dr de Marco concluded.