Valletta Airlines on Thursday announced that it has been issued an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) ahead of its planned launch this year.

The airline, which is owned by Air Valletta Group and is backed by private Cypriot investment, will focus on global charter and ACMI markets, targeting Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East, and Asia.

Valletta Airlines described this achievement as “one of its biggest milestones so far”, after it was issued number MT-74 on Wednesday.

It proceeded to thank Transport Malta’s Civil Aviation Directorate for the “smooth process and exceptional professionalism” throughout the whole procedure.

The airline aims to start operations with one Airbus A320-200, which it has recently registered. The 18-year-old jet was transferred from Lithuanian charter airline Heston Airlines, which has been contracted to provide supporting services to the Maltese company.

It has plans to grow its fleet to three Airbus A320-200 and two A330-200 by the end of the year.

Article credits: https://whoswho.mt/en/newly-formed-valletta-airlines-receives-air-operator-certificate

The trips to the Portuguese capital are the fifth new destination which form part of the airline’s summer route expansion, which also include flights to Naples, Nice, Palermo and Tel Aviv.

The flights will happen twice per week, on Mondays and Thursdays and will operate between June and October 26th, 2023.

During November 2022, a total of 174,460 inbound tourists were estimated to have visited Malta. 144,631 of said tourists visited the island for holiday purposes whereas 23,615 visited the island for business purposes.

The largest share of inbound tourists were aged between 25 and 44 (ranking at 40.7%), followed by the 45 to 64 age bracket at 35.4%.

The United Kingdom, Italy and France had the most residents making up the number of inbound tourists, making up 42.4% of the total.

The total nights spent went up 36.3% when compared to the same month in 2021, surpassing 1.2 million nights at 1,203,802 nights.

The largest share of guest nights at 81.1% was spent in rented accommodation establishments, whereas the average length of stay for total inbound tourists stood at 6.9 nights.

€144.1 million was surpassed as the total tourist expenditure for the month, which is up 55.8% over the same month in 2021. The average expenditure per night was estimated to be around €119.7.

The first eleven month of 2022 saw 2,150,174 inbound tourists, whereas the total nights surpassed 15.6 million nights. The total tourist expenditure was estimated to be at €1.9 billion, with total expenditure per capita decreasing to €889 from €914 in 2021.

Situated in The Strand, Gzira, opposite the Manoel Island, this 106-roomed hotel strategically enjoys easy access to a plethora of nearby top-notch cafés, bars, and eateries for all tastes and budgets and is only a few minutes walk from Sliema, the leading shopping and dining centre in Malta. Guest rooms dimensions vary from 28 square meters for Superior Double Rooms to the 47-square-meter Deluxe Suite Double.

Facing the sea and a popular walking promenade, enjoying a Valletta backdrop and a vibrant Marsamxett Harbour Area, Hotel Verdi can be said to command a relaxing sight to view and enjoy. The Ferry service to Valletta is within a short walking distance.

Naturally, the Food and Beverage Areas have been entrusted to Corinthia Caterers for their operation, including the all-day dining restaurant and 24/7 room service.

Hotel Verdi includes two fully equipped boardroom-style meeting rooms which accommodate up to 12 guests.

Guests can enjoy a fully equipped fitness centre, a decked wooden sauna together with an indoor heated splash pool and an outdoor pool.

The management of Hotel Verdi will be incorporated within Corinthia’s centralised structure at the Peninsula Hotels.

Conosciamo le DMC: Colours of Malta, il valore di un operatore per la meeting industry.

DMC sono una risorsa per l’intero sistema turistico.
Sono loro il trait d’union con il territorio, anche per la meeting industry.
Ne è un esempio Colours of Malta, un DMC maltese specializzato nel segmento Mice che da 25 anni consente di pianificare con cura e dedizione eventi corporate, meeting e congressi.

I DMC (Destination Management Company) rivestono un’importanza fondamentale nel sistema di funzionamento del sistema turistico. Sono il punto di contatto con il territorio, con ciò che una destinazione offre, e permettono di immergersi appieno in ogni luogo.

Colours of Malta, un DMC per conoscere le sfumature dell’arcipelago.

Amare ciò che si fa, amare il proprio lavoro e puntare all’eccellenza. È questo il modo di pensare con cui Colours of Malta approccia il mercato e opera giorno dopo giorno dal 1997. Un DMC maltese che unisce efficienza e attenzione alle richieste del cliente, soprattutto laddove queste siano articolate e dunque ogni particolare faccia la differenza. Da 25 anni Colours of Malta si presenta come un’azienda fortemente orientata al segmento Mice (conferenze e incentive) con un ventaglio di proposte molto ampio, un team poliglotta e tanta creatività. Che si tratti di allestire una cena di gala con un tocco unconventional o di suggerire attività cariche di adrenalina, questo DMC sa disegnare un’esperienza su misura per potere scoprire Malta…oltre ogni aspettativa!
Nel tempo la passione si è evoluta in dedizione, numerosi i clienti soddisfatti e una voglia di crescere e migliorarsi che mai si esaurisce. Essere degli ‘event designer’ a Malta significa potere spaziare tra natura e storia, buon cibo e vita notturna: un piccolo mondo che cambia pur mantenendo intatta la propria autenticità…e Colours of Malta sa bene come coglierne ogni sfumatura.

Leggete l’articolo completo di VisitMalta qui.

Global travel authority Lonely Planet has unveiled its top destinations to visit next year with the release of Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2023, and Malta has been awarded the “Top Destination to Unwind” Award, alongside destinations such as Halkidiki in Greece and Jordan, The Malta Tourism Authority said.

Lonely Planet said that Malta has been ‘much-loved by European visitors for decades,’ adding that it ‘is attracting more visitors from around the world, beckoned by its prehistoric temples, fantastic scuba diving and buzzy Valletta, its beautiful capital,'” the MTA added.

Lonely Planet’s annual marquee moment celebrates their expert predictions for where to go in the year ahead, the MTA said. “Showcasing 30 incredible destinations around this globe, Best in Travel 2023 is Lonely Planet’s 18th annual collection of the world’s hottest destinations and the must-have travel experiences for the year ahead. Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2023 recommends 30 must-visit locations around food, journeying, connection, learning and unwinding. It offers a comprehensive set of itineraries aimed at helping travellers to explore the world – while following along with some seriously knowledgeable locally based experts along the way.”

The award was presented to Clayton Bartolo, Minister for Tourism; Gavin Gulia and Carlo Micallef, Chairman and CEO of the Malta Tourism Authority, during last week’s World Travel Market in London.

“Malta’s profile in the tourism world is rapidly gaining the strong reputation it truly deserves. In the past months, the Malta Tourism Authority has been a proactive catalyst in making sure that the splendour of the Maltese Islands is shared and outreached around the globe,” outlined Minister for Tourism Clayton Bartolo.

“Each year, Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2023 lists start with nominations from Lonely Planet’s vast community of staff, writers, bloggers, publishing partners and more. The nominations are then whittled down by our panel of travel experts to just 30 destinations. Each is chosen for its topicality, unique experiences, ‘wow’ factor and its ongoing commitment to sustainability, community and diversity,” the MTA said.

Article credits: https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2022-11-16/local-news/Malta-wins-Lonely-Planet-s-top-destination-to-unwind-award-6736247525

What if everything we know about prehistoric humans is wrong?

Journalist Graham Hancock travels the globe hunting for evidence of mysterious, lost civilizations dating back to the last Ice Age. Ancient Apocalypse is split into eight roughly half-hour-long episodes, over the course of which Hancock explains his theory about ancient civilizations. He believes that there was an advanced culture that existed before known civilizations that fed into ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Mesoamerica, during the period that historians believe all people were hunter-gatherers. Over the course of the docuseries, he travels across the globe from Turkey to Malta to Indonesia to the Bahamas to attempt to prove his points and find where this “lost civilization” may have been based.

Watch the Netflix episode regarding Malta, here.

Colours of Malta has the pleasure to introduce a ‘new’ team member, Steve.

Steve is no new face to the DMC world, having worked for over 12 years in the industry and having connections all over the world.

Steve is fluent in English and Italian, and an avid hockey player and sports fan.

After a short break in the industry, Steve is back with loads of experience and refreshing new ideas… and is definitely a great asset to our ever growing COM team!

You can get in touch with Steve on [email protected]

The EMAs, the European Mission Awards, are the awards set up by the publishing house that has been producing and distributing the specialist Business Travel magazine, Mission, online and offline for over twenty years.

The idea of setting up European awards, specialising and focusing on business travel, stems from an experience dating back to 2013, organising the Italian Mission Awards, and from a desire to recognise excellence at a broader European level.

Malta won the Best Mice Destination 2022, and we had the pleasure of  accepting the award.

View all winners here.