| Real Estate
In Malta |
| Royal Visit
Boosts Island's Property Prospects |
| By Roger Munns |
| Malta's image
has needed a boost for some time to attract tourists and overseas property
buyers and to compete with other Mediterranean islands such as Mallorca,
Cyprus and Lanzarote.
Malta hosts
the Commonwealth meeting in late November, and in attendance will be Queen
Elizabeth II, Tony Blair and the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia,
New Zealand and 50 other countries, along with the media from
each country.
Will Malta
let this golden publicity opportunity slip by? |
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Leaders of
over 50 countries from the Commonwealth will be meeting on the Mediterranean
island of Malta from November 25 to 27, and for three days the island will
be enjoying the attention of hundreds of millions of TV and online news
viewers and newspaper readers worldwide.
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Malta has often
been overlooked by holidaymakers and second home owners in favour of other
Mediterranean islands such as Mallorca, Cyprus and Lanzarote, and hotels
and estate agents alike on the island are hoping that the three days of
publicity will boost visitor numbers for 2006. |
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| With good
all year round weather and an English speaking population visitor numbers
from the UK, which make up about half of the island's tourist numbers,
have been surprisingly flat in recent years, and with cheaper holidays
available in the new destinations from Eastern Europe such as Bulgaria
set to capture more of the UK holiday and property market Malta could see
tourist numbers remain level or even fall in future years.
Malta Holidays
Malta missed
it's own target of a modest increase in tourists this summer, and there
are worries on the island that the opportunity to increase awareness among
potential visitors will be missed.
Michael Johnson
of Tribune Properties who specialise in properties for sale in Malta comments:
'Malta is
ideally situated in the Mediterranean to attract |
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Offshore
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| tourists
from all over Europe and further afield but for a lot of people I speak
to in other countries it isn't an obvious destination of choice. The island
has a strong domestic property market and doesn't rely too heavily on overseas
property buyers like some of the Mediterranean islands do, but at the same
time those that do buy here play a good role in the economy overall. The
timing of the Commonwealth meeting is good as it's just before the New
Year when a lot of people decide where they will be going for their summer
holidays, and next summer's tourist could be next winter's property buyer.
But they're only going to do that if they visit the island first, and I'm
hoping that Malta will see an increase in tourists in 2006 - it really
depends on whether the island takes this chance to market itself in the
months ahead on the back of the free publicity the Commonwealth will bring...'
The Commonwealth
Heads of Government Meeting takes place very two years, and has its roots
in the British Empire, with 53 members who were former British colonies
belonging to the organisation. Queen Elizabeth II is the head of the Commonwealth,
and will be visiting with Prince Philip for a two day trip to Malta to
open the meeting on November 25 in Valletta, the island's capital. |
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| It will
be the royal couple's first visit to Malta since 1992, and welcoming crowds
are expected in similar numbers to their previous four visits. In addition
to the Queen and Prince Philip, among the attendees will be the United
Kingdom's Prime Minister Tony Blair, and the Prime Ministers of Canada,
New Zealand, India, South Africa, Singapore and Australia.
'Around
half of Malta's tourists are from the UK' adds Michael Johnson, 'and
it's a similar figure for non islanders buying property here. As well as
increasing holidaymaker numbers from the traditional UK market we should
be trying to appeal to people in Canada, Australia, South Africa and New
Zealand and other countries who take a holiday in Europe to consider visiting
Malta for a few days to sample the fine hotels, hospitality, history and
culture that the island is so rich in. But it remains to be seen whether
the tourist board is capable of translating good free publicity into visitors
for the island.' |
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| The Heads
of Commonwealth meeting is being held in Valletta, Malta from November
25 to 27.
For a guide
to the island, including holidays in Malta, hotels, self catering holiday
villas and apartments, flights, car hire and details of Malta's main towns
of Valletta, St Julian's, Sliema, Mellieha, St Paul's Bay, Qawra and Bugibba
visit www.yourmalta.com |
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