Malta Plans to Reopen Tourism Industry in June

Malta is planning to start welcoming back tourists as from June, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo said on Tuesday, as he unveiled the island's new plan to restart the industry badly dented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bartolo said at a press conference that the government will inject 20 million euros (23.4 million U.S. dollars) through an aid package designed specifically to kickstart the tourism industry devastated by the pandemic.

In 2019 the tourism industry injected 2.2 billion euros into the country's economy.

Bartolo said discussions were under way with the European Commission as it was hoping to allow the use of green passports for those who are already vaccinated and which would allow them to travel without any restrictions.

He said the first tourists are expected to come to Malta from European countries which by summer will have a higher rate of vaccinations as well as from the United Kingdom, which has always been Malta's biggest tourism market.

Malta is currently on a semi-lockdown with all schools, restaurants, bars, cafeterias and non-essential services shut since March 10 as part of a series of measures implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19, and which will remain in place until at least April 11.

Health authorities are currently working on a pandemic exit plan as the numbers of infections drop but no details have been made public yet. Health authorities on Tuesday announced 55 new cases, the lowest this year and the current number of active cases dropped to less than 900.