Visit Malta CEO on Achieving Herd Immunity While Staying Cautiously Hopeful About This Summer
Photo Credit: Malta's tourism industry could be set for a major recovery this summer, thanks to its successful Covid vaccination rate. Unsplash / Hasmik Ghazaryan Olson
Skift Take
Malta remains optimistic in spite of its exclusion from the UK's initial safe travel list last week. Herd immunity is under a week away and pent-up summer bookings signal a potential boon for the tiny archipelago amid fierce regional competition ahead.
With one of the highest Covid vaccination rates in Europe and in the world, Malta now projects reaching herd immunity by May 19. Over 60 percent of residents have been fully vaccinated thus far and on Wednesday, restaurants and bars reopened, albeit under limited schedules.
Its success in containing the pandemic meant that the archipelago in the Mediterranean expected to be included on the UK's first round of green list destination last week, also as a result of ongoing talks and positive vaccination roll outs in both destinations. Its omission comes a blow to Malta's tourism sector for at least another month. Ironically, when Malta first reopened in the summer 2020, the UK was also left off Malta's list despite making up 30 percent of Malta's tourism arrivals pre-pandemic.
Skift spoke to Johann Buttigieg, CEO of Visit Malta since late 2019, about the competitive tourism landscape ahead this summer as EU member countries reopen, the strategies in place for Malta's rebound amid fi
