Malta is testing more people for COVID-19 per capita than all but two other countries worldwide, a global statistics site has shown, with a rate of 4.81 in terms of daily tests carried out per 1,000 people, as of 17th August. Only the Gulf nations of UAE and Bahrain score better, registering rates of 6.04 and 5.84 respectively, while New Zealand, the United States and the UK are ranked fourth, fifth and sixth.
Luxembourg is ranked seventh with a rate of 1.97, meaning Malta’s current testing rate is more than double that of any other EU member state.

However, Malta scores worse when it comes to the number of tests carried out per confirmed case, coming in 27th place with an infection rate of 72.7. To put it in perspective, New Zealand is ranked first, with 1,873 tests carried out for every positive case, while Myanmar and Latvia are second and third, with scores of 927 and 608.

Questions have been raised over whether it is fair for countries to blacklist Malta as a travel destination seeing as its recent surge in COVID-19 cases came hand in hand with a significant increase in testing. Malta has seen a surge in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, but no COVID-19 related deaths have been confirmed since 29th May.

The government has imposed a number of social distancing restrictions to contain the spread and has enforced the wearing of masks in a number of locations but the country hasn’t gone into quasi-lockdown as it did at the start of the pandemic last March. Meanwhile, several countries, including the UK, have forced people returning from Malta to go into quarantine, a major blow to the island’s tourism industry.

Find the full article here: https://lovinmalta.com/opinion/analysis/malta-ranked-third-best-worldwide-for-its-covid-19-testing-rate/ 

On Friday 7th August, the International Fireworks Festival will be coming to a close, displaying its grand finale of this year’s event. If you’re thinking of heading down to the Grand Harbour to watch the beautiful display, we’ve got the perfect idea. You can thank us later.

Heritage Malta is inviting the public to watch this spectacular fireworks fest from the glorious and extensive bastions of Fort St Angelo. Can you imagine the view? And there’s a bonus involved! This is the perfect opportunity to explore this historical landmark in Birgu.

Admission prices are at just €3; children under 11 years of age enter for free. Tickets will be available at the door, but it is important to note that for this event, the Heritage Malta students and seniors’ passports won’t be accepted.

Now that the days have gotten longer and the temperature has skyrocketed, the island has also become more and more alive. We can easily say that summer in Malta is one of the island’s main attractions!

Here are the top things to look forward to in summer in Malta!

LONGER DAYS TO ENJOY THE SUNSHINE

Summer days are longer which means that there is more sunshine to enjoy your day. Whether you’re going to the beach or you’re planning a fun day out to explore the island, you can count on daylight till around 8.30 pm.

DISCOVER ALL OF MALTA’S BEACHES

Whether you prefer rocky or sandy beaches, one of Malta’s highlights is the great opportunity of having the beach in close vicinity to everywhere!

WATCH THE SUNSET

Sunsets in Malta are glorious. If you’re spending a day by the beach, you can simply settle down with a beer or a bottle of wine and witness the island’s beauty as the sun goes down. Top sunset locations include Dingli Cliffs and the Mellieha area.

GO TO A FESTA CELEBRATION

There’s almost a festa celebration happening every summer weekend in Malta. Enjoy the perfect summer night with a fireworks display, celebratory bands and food from local food trucks. It’s the ultimate summer night on the island!

FESTIVALS AND CONCERTS ON THE ISLAND

Summer in Malta is jam-packed with various activities, especially when it comes to festivals and concerts. Popular festivals include The Isle of MTV, the Farsons Beer Festival, the Malta Jazz Festival, and many others. Make sure that you pencil in all the dates so you won’t miss a thing!

ENJOY DINNER BY THE SEA

Malta boasts a multitude of fantastic dining locations with an array of cuisines whilst you enjoy a breezy evening in Malta

DIVE INTO THE BIG BLUE

The Maltese Islands’ clear blue Mediterranean sea is ideal for scuba diving. All three Islands offer some unique diving experiences with an abundance of reefs, caves and wrecks that make diving here some of the most interesting in the Mediterranean.

KAYAKING THE HIDDEN COVES

Enjoy the hidden spots and the island’s coast whilst exercising and enjoying the sea.

The celebrated Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja revealed the exciting news that the annual summer concert is going to take place on September 4th. Referencing the local situation when it comes to COVID-19, the tenor assured that all the appropriate measures will be taken, and that the concert will be taking place outside in the open-air. The tenor did not divulge who his guests will be, but mentioned that the information will be shared soon.

Most hoteliers that participated in a survey put out by Deloitte believe that Malta and the rest of the world will achieve tourism normality by 2023.

A significant portion of hoteliers (17%) predict that pre-COVID-19 business levels will be achieved in 2024 or later.

In a bid to better identify what the post-COVID-19 tourism recovery process might look like, Deloitte looked into how the tourism industry was affected by major global events in the past.

• The 2003 SARS epidemic saw a 15% decline in tourism. Although this is a relatively minor decline when compared to the COVID-19 pandemic, it still took around five months for the tourism industry to recover.
• The 9/11 attacks saw a global drop of 15% in tourism. Following this event, normality in this sector was achieved after around 12 months. Due to the fact that this particular event was directly associated with travel, recovery time was longer. The aftermath of such attacks also stand to show how anxiety and fear of travel play a key factor in determining how long tourism will take to recover.
• The 2010 Global Economy Crisis led to a 10% decrease in tourism numbers, and the process of recovery took around 10 months.

These results serve to show that recovery periods in general – but the COVID-19 recovery period in particular – are not fast processes.

Furthermore, travel anxiety tends to slow down the recovery process far more than economic problems; hence why outbreaks and pandemics affect the tourism industry far worse than economic crises.

Find the full article here: https://lovinmalta.com/lifestyle/travel/most-hoteliers-believe-malta-will-have-achieved-tourism-normality-by-2023/

After over a hundred years of it being missing from Malta, the famous Mattia Preti masterpiece, named Boethius and Philosophy, will be returning to the island. The Maltese Government acquired the 17th century oil on canvas painting for the sum of €1.3 million after it had disappeared mysteriously from the Grandmaster’s Palace at the end of the 19th century. It is believed that the painting was commissioned by Andrea di Giovanni, Knight of the Order of Malta.

It was purchased after it turned up at Sotheby’s Old Masters Auction in New York and will now be added to Malta’s National Collection.

Minister for National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government José Herrera, whilst thanking the Board of Governors of the National Development Social Fund and Heritage Malta, stated that this acquisition is proof of government’s commitment to continue to protect and enrich the cultural and artistic heritage of our country.

Malta has been awarded the prize for Connoisseur Circle Hospitality Award as the best cultural destination of the year.

The team at the Malta Tourism Authority in Germany received the honour of the Cultural Getaway of the Year 2020, as the best destination for those looking for a short and luxurious cultural destination.

Every year, the Connoisseur Circle, a luxury travel magazine, awards the best hotels, cruise liners, airlines and destinations in 15 different categories.  The winners are chosen by a jury made up of travel journalists and industry experts.

St John’s co Cathedral will re-open its doors to the public on Wednesday 15th July.

Here’s a few important changes to take note of :

New timings – 10:30 hrs to 14:30 hrs (last entry at 14:00 hrs).

New Numbers – a total of 189 visitors will be allowed at any one time / groups shall be of no more than 25 persons.

New entry regulations –

• Visitors will need to wear a mask/visor
• Visitors’ temperature will be taken at the entrance
• Public toilets will be kept closed

New pricing – Adults: €15.00

The Fireworks Festival was initially postponed until further notice due to the global pandemic. But it seems like that much-awaited notice has arrived as the MIFF has announced that it is indeed happening this summer!

The 19th edition of the MIFF will be happening this summer between 24th July and 7th August and will have four fireworks displays on the following dates:

1. 24th July (Gozo)
2. 27th July (Mqabba)
3. 29th July (Mqabba)
4. 7th August (Valletta Grand Harbour)

The event is being organised by the Ministry for Tourism and Consumer Protection together with the Malta Tourism Authority.

Feast your eyes on this colourful spectacle with us!

There is no better way to mingle with the locals than at the Maltese village festa (or feast). The Maltese love their patron saints and the village festas, being primarily a religious celebration, are held in their honour every year.

Each village celebrates a different patron saint or two depending on the number of churches in the locality. Each church is dedicated to a different saint. For this reason, some villages celebrate more than one festa per year.

Organised by the village band clubs and the parish members , the village festa is an event that all stakeholders work throughout the year to put together.

The competition between the band clubs can be quite fierce when it comes to the organisation of decorations and the fireworks shows, even if there is only one festa in the village.

It gets even tougher when the locality celebrates two different patron saints, each honoured by an individual band club.

The festas are held over the summer months. This is a time of great merriment for the local community coupled with a lot of traditions and customs and things can get really noisy and loud 😊

View festa calendar : https://www.visitmalta.com/en/village-festas