The arrival of low-cost airlines, aggressive pricing and improved cruise facilities are paying dividends for Malta, Travel Weekly reported.

Ryanair’s introduction of flights from London and Dublin in 2006 brought the island to the attention of budget-conscious sunseekers young and old. For the first six months of 2008, the low-cost airline reported inbound passenger numbers for Malta up 100% year on year at 95,917.

Meanwhile, Air Malta, which has been waging an aggressive marketing campaign with low lead-in prices from the UK, has reported UK arrivals up 4% in 2008.

Other developments which will help shape the tourism landscape in Malta are easyJets’ recent announcement that it will operate a twice-weekly Newcastle-Malta route in April and Ryanair wil be introducing flights from Edinburgh and Bristol in March and July respectively, both twice weekly.

The summer season is expected to attract further tourists. Besides the annual Isle of MTV concert, the British music festival Creamfields will this year be hosted at Rabat on June 27.

Travel Weekly said that Malta, which recently won the Destination of the Year award at the Seatrade Insider Cruise Awards 2008, is also fast becoming a significant port of call for cruise operators.

The newspaper reported tourism parliamentary secretary Mario de Marco saying that the number of cruise passengers next year is expected to increase by about 12%, helped by a substantial investment in the Valletta Waterfront Harbour project.

Half a million cruise passengers spent time in Malta between January and November last year and together the MTA, Malta’s international airport and the Valletta waterfront cruise terminal operator Viset are investing €400,000 to promote Malta as a cruise-and-stay destination to entice passengers to stay in Malta or Gozo for one or more nights.

The government also plans to invest in Boiler Wharf in Senglea, which will become a cruiseliner quay, and has commissioned a study to consider creating a cruise terminal in Marsamxett.

Lowcostbeds.com chief executive Paul Evans also believes that the bedstock on the island has had a hand in matters too. He said, “Our Malta sales are well up by 35%. The investment the island has made in upgrading its hotels has helped enormously and with low-cost airlines coming in and a more aggressive Air Malta, the market has been stimulated as a whole.”

Meanwhile, new operators selling Malta for 2009 include Green Island Holidays, Discovery Collection, Vintage Travel, Olympic Holidays, Sweet Chariot, Travel for the Arts and Sunisle Holidays.