Malta

Some travel analysts suggest that Malta’s holiday industry was saved by the entry into the market of budget airlines, turning a worsening position just a few years ago to an island that has a vibrant tourism sector.

With higher airfares than competitors in the Mediterranean the number of holidays to Malta had been declining for some years, but eventually the authorities gave in to the inevitable and allowed Ryanair to start flights to Malta - and the island hasn’t looked back since.

Other airlines are now flying to the island’s Luqa Airport, including easyJet and bmi, from not just the main UK airports such as Gatwick, but Bournemouth, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle - with good news for holidaymakers in Northern Ireland that easyJet are to start a Belfast service soon.

The net result of the skies opening up to the budget airlines is a wider choice of Malta flights for tourists, with a choice of departure times and airport, and lower airfares.

And while the UK market is the biggest for her tourism industry, more visitors are coming from elsewhere as the airlines have opened new routes to the island from other European cities - diversifying the tourist mix, becoming less dependent on the UK, and increasing the net number of holidaymakers spending money in the hotels, shops and other holiday related businesses.

The new routes include Milan, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, Marseille, Seville, Stockholm, Valencia and Venice - allowing Italian, Spanish, French and Swedish people to more readily consider Malta for a holiday destination.

All excellent news for the tourism industry. But it’s not just the lower fares that those taking a holiday are benefitting from, as Malta’s flag carrier is winning awards for excellence, while lowering their own fares to compete with the budget airlines.

In a recent satisfaction survey of passengers by the influential Which? consumer magazine in the UK, Air Malta was voted as one of the best, alongside Swiss Air, while the budget airlines were a lot less successful.

It’s quite a turnaround for the island’s national airline. Given that it’s a small country with a population of just over 400,000 people there were justifiable fears that the airline might go out of business as the low cost carriers cut fares. But Air Malta has not just competed well on fares but provided a service that other - much bigger - airlines cannot match.

Coupled with the good hotels Malta has, the island now appeals not just to those who want a traditional two week holiday in the Mediterranean, but also for those who want to visit for a long weekend. Spa hotels are a big attraction, and some of the Malta hotels have been winning awards for excellence in the last couple of years, all adding to her reputation among tourists in the UK and Europe.

The capital is Valletta, and the main villages where people take a Malta holiday are St Paul’s Bay, Mellieha and St Juilan’s. Mellieha has the best beach and a ot of people who take villas as opposed to staying in a hotel opt to stay here, with the Santa Maria Estate popular.

Another Malta blog is available at maltaproperty.info and often people post their own photographs of the island along with photographs on social media like facebook, myspace and twitter.

The icnetwork in Wales recently wrote about a vist to the island:

THE British influence on Malta is noticeable in more than the fact that virtually everyone speaks English.

Hidden down a back street of the capital Valletta is a small pub called, simply enough, The Pub.

This is the place where hellraiser (and actor) Oliver Reed enjoyed his final drinking session before collapsing and dying of a heart attack in 1999. An extra line – Ollie’s last pub – has now been added to the sign outside and the venue is a favourite with tourists. It’s definitely worth a visit.

But don’t get the idea this tiny island is just about partying. There are so many places to see.

Malta is blessed, although in the past that could read “cursed”, with a berth in the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Africa. It has been fought over by many nations in its long history. The result is a fascinating land of architectural and cultural variety.

And because it’s so small and easily reachable from Wales, Malta is ideal for a short break. I stayed in the centre of the island, in the fabulous ancient walled city of Mdina – the former capital.

Mdina Malta

With the luxurious Xara Palace hotel as my base, I spent three days whizzing around some of the island’s varied attractions before heading back to the hotel for top quality food and hospitality. And the hotel’s location is perfect.

Perched on a hilltop it forms part of the wall around Mdina. The 17 individually-designed rooms boast dizzying views down and across the island or into Mdina itself.

Malta is a favourite destination for people from the UK looking for warm winters and hot summers, a largely gentle pace of life (if you don’t venture out on the chaotic roads on your own) and some spectacular beaches. Holidays in Malta during the winter are taken by quite a few people.

One of the island’s main attractions is its history. This tempting spot was colonised by the Phoenicians around 1,000BC. They were followed by Greeks, Romans, Arabs, French and finally the British, before Malta became independent in 1964.

All left their mark but the main existing developments date from around the time of the military religious order the Knights of Malta who spent more than a century guarding Christian Europe’s southern borders from invasion by the Ottoman Empire.

They, like me, were based in Mdina, the Silent City. Stepping through the towering walls feels like moving back several centuries in time. Few cars are allowed inside and it is home to a few hundred people who live among the peaceful, ancient alleyways.

No visit to Malta would be complete without visiting Mdina. Outside its walls the rest of the island has moved with the times.

After a visit to the pretty fishing village of Marsaxlokk, complete with brightly painted boats and busy market, it was on to the island’s current capital.

Valletta is home to the booming business sector and some sparkling nightlife. The glitzy clubs are concentrated in just a few streets where the beautiful people congregate. There is much talk of Malta becoming a party capital – the new Ibiza. While that might be a way off, I did enjoy a night in Valetta’s Ministry of Sound club where superstar DJ Todd Terry was in residence.

Valletta Malta

Despite its long and eventful history, the city seems youthful and buzzing. But everywhere there is a mix of the old and new.

Incongruously close to Ollie’s last stand is St John’s Co-Cathedral, featuring spectacularly gaudy decoration as well as some gems including The Beheading of John the Baptist by Caravaggio and works by Malta’s own art superstar Mattia Preti.

After spending the days wandering around the island’s attractions, it was a pleasure to return to the Xara Palace. And after a rest on the comfy king-sized bed, it was time for a spectacular meal cooked by chef Kevin Bonello in the rooftop de Mondion restaurant overlooking the bright lights of the island.

The setting was spectacular, the ambience relaxed and the food perfection.

Visit yourmalta.com for a choice of Malta hotels

Malta

The percentage of people who book their holidays and trips away via the internet increases every year, and with ticketless flights, reviews of hotels from previous guests and currency delivered to your home, the impression might be that booking a trip a few days before departure is the norm.

Not for UK tourists, according to research undertaken by leading online travel site Expedia.

In fact, many British people still book their overseas trips months ahead - but then they are the most organised tourists in Europe!

Before the recession, the trend was to book different parts of a holiday with different online travel firms, ensuring each part of the trip was done at the best price - but with some small companies going under Expedia note that more people are booking both flights and hotels at the same time.

And it’s not just the recession that’s caused the shift back to booking with the same company, the recent Icelandic volcano left many travellers stranded while those who had booked with well established tour operators such as Thomson and Thomas Cook were well looked after and alternative ways home organised on their behalf.

And it’s in times like this that tourists realise that cheap isn’t always good - but a resource like Expedia does allow money to be saved while booking all or some parts of a trip with one company.

Take Malta for example. There are plenty of different options for booking holidays in Malta available, and different parts of the trip can be booked seperately - or all with someone like Expedia.

Hotels can be viewed and reviews from people who have stayed there be seen, and a little extra research can be done to see which area might be most suitable. Valletta for history, Mellieha for a good beach for example. Both areas have a wide choice of accommodation and any of the Malta hotels can be booked with the one resource.

Flights are slightly different for the island. In recent years the low cost carriers have started to fly in and out of Malta, and not all of them are represented on travel sites that do the other components of a trip. Search Expedia for example for return flights and it might not bring up Ryanair who were the first budget airline to fly to the island, and provide flights from both Luton and Bournemouth.

So for the cost conscious it might be worth checking their site to see how much their Malta flights are.

But overall booking everything with one company does have its benefits, with hotels, car hire, flights, holidays and travel insurance all possible, and for Malta holidays Expedia is able to offer all these at a good price.

More details about the island are at yourmalta.com and there are other free to use articles

Tenerife Blog

Around the world holiday destinations often need something new to give it the appearance of keeping up with the times and having the travel press write about it, and Tenerife is no different from any other destination in that respect.

A new hotel will make waves as does a refurbished one, and a hotel that’s under new ownership.

All are cause for travel journalists to start booking their flights to Tenerife ready for a few days special treatment in exchange for a review in their respective media.

And so it is with Tenerife as new owners take over the 5 star San Blas Reserva Ambiental in the south of the island.

A spokesman for the new owners commented:

“The purchase of San Blas Reserva Ambiental Hotel is a wonderful addition to the Sandos Hotels & Resorts product line and offers and innovative holiday resort with a variety of spaces, facilities and activities designed to live up to all the expectations for vacation fun and relaxation as well as a unique experience for group and incentive travel.”

Commenting on the benefits of booking a stay at what could be one of the best Tenerife hotels they add:

”The San Blas Reserva Ambiental Hotel is situated in front of the magnificent Atlantic Ocean, just ten minutes from the Tenerife South Airport, and located on a natural Environmental Reserve. Unique on-site facilities include a multi-media center with an interactive museum to discover mysterious species and a historical experience tunnel that recreates the history of San Blas from prehistoric times to the modern day, a sailing lake and a 27-hole Biosphere Golf Course, and a boutique Spa facility with an extensive list of body treatments.”

So with a location close to the airport from where guests take their flights to Tenerife, what are the opinions of those who have stayed there recently and added their views to popular review sites? A typical response has been:

‘We had a perfect vacation at this wonderful planned hotel. Every detail has been thought through. Our room were large with a very nice seperate shower room (yes, it was that big!) and jacuzzi. The staff is very friendly and their personality always shines through. The breakfast buffet was soooo good. One evening we tried the buffet too. Usually I’m not to fond of hotel buffets, but the San Blas really surprised me here too. In the nearby fishing village there are a lot of lovely restaurants too. Overall I can only recommend San Blas, and will absolutely stay here when travelling to Tenerife again. This is a peaceful way to vacation away from usual the tourist traps.’

Other reviews from those staying there for their Tenerife holidays are also generous in their praise, with most commenting that the facilities, cleanliness and staff make it for them 4 or 5 star standard.

For more Tenerife information including a 5 day forecast with today’s Tenerife weather visit yourtenerife.net

They also have a map, villas and the latest news and articles to read.

Malta

Can’t get to sleep at night? A trip to Malta might ensure relaxation if you do what Gail Porter did, and wrote in the UK Daily Mail:

A week before Christmas I flew out of a desperately cold Manchester for a much-needed weekend spa break in Malta. Little did I realise that a magnetic mattress there was about to cure my long-standing insomnia.

My destination was a new style of hotel - the first in Europe - that uses energised magnetic mattresses, duvets and pillows to supposedly give you a better night’s sleep.

Well, as I usually wake up at 4am on the dot, no matter what time I crawl into bed, I wasn’t holding out much hope that a few nights at the Fortina Spa Resort hotel in Sliema would make any difference to my annoying sleeping habits.

My boyfriend Jonny and I arrived on the island at midnight, so we had little idea of our surroundings, but we did receive a warm welcome at the hotel before being escorted to our special ‘Wellness Rejuvenation’ room.

We were told there was a heated Jacuzzi on the balcony, from which there was a fantastic view over the harbour, and I couldn’t wait to see it in daylight, so we retreated to our magnetic bed.

The next morning I woke up and leant over to my phone to check the time and nearly fell out of bed, I was so shocked. It was 10am. I had slept right through the night - practically unheard of for me. I was elated.

I woke Jonny - who also managed to sleep like a baby - and we made a dash to breakfast before we missed it. We had to get a move on as we had massages booked for 11am. Jonny had never had one before so he was a mixture of trepidation and excitement.

I was having a Thai and Jonny a Lava shell massage. I have had a Thai massage before but this was one of the best I’ve experienced. It was exactly what I needed to relieve all the aches, pains and stiffness that my body had been holding on to. I also had the most wonderful head massage before I left. I was in heaven.

Jonny looked like the cat that had got the cream. His massage consisted of being massaged all over with hot shells. On our final day we were going to swap treatments, so I had this to look forward to.

The resort has many restaurants serving cuisine from around the world. After our treatments we went to the Hibiki Japanese restaurant for some beautifully fresh sashimi and a cooked tuna steak.

Then after lunch it was back to the room to get ready for an afternoon exploring the island. But first we had a look around. As we’d rushed down to breakfast after my fantastic sleep, we’d missed all the other gadgets.

There were mountain-fresh ionised air purifiers, a living water and shower system and hygienic bedding that kills dust mites. We also had a body energiser beside the bed, which massages your feet to help increase circulation and relaxation.

And, in the bathroom, there was a Dermalife Spa-Jet, a huge capsule-type piece of equipment with a spa shower with 20 heads, a ’steam experience’, coloured lights, and various water massage settings. I could see I was going to have a lot of fun with this.

We also had a Power Plate, a machine that can give you the equivalent of a full body workout in just 15 minutes.

Once my lunch had settled, I gave it a go. It is a strange experience as the plate vibrates as you do a series of exercises illustrated in a pamphlet. I found it exhilarating and my muscles certainly felt as if they had worked hard.

Massage, lunch and mini workout done, it was time to venture out to Mdina and then on to the capital, Valletta.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1279351/Spa-breaks-Gail-Porter-cures-insomnia-Malta.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0sdesagbZ

New figures released and reported on by rttnews.com shows that Malta’s hotels got a good start to the year:

Tourist  arrivals in collective accommodation in Malta increased 1.3% year-on-year in February compared to 8.8% in January, the National Statistics Office said Tuesday. The number of foreign tourist arrivals increased, while resident arrivals declined.

The net occupancy rate stood at 39.2% during the month compared to 31.6% in January.

Total nights spent in the collective accommodation establishments fell 4.5% year-on-year. The average length of stay stood at 5.6 nights, down by 0.4 nights compared to the corresponding month last year.

More information about Malta hotels are available at yourmalta.com - there is also a profile of the island.

Malta is perfect for a spring holiday, according to the Daily Telegraph in the UK, who comment:

Malta has an extraordinary, 7,000-year history that has left a remarkable legacy. Its little-known Neolithic temples are the oldest sophisticated stone buildings in the world (older even than Stonehenge). These, combined with the remains of Roman occupation, opulent churches and massive fortifications of the Knights of St John and the many reminders of Malta’s crucial role in the Second World War, mean that the tiny country has one of the highest densities of historical sites anywhere. And it’s all bathed in warm Mediterranean sun (it’s currently about 18C in the afternoons) and surrounded by crystal-clear blue sea. It’s a great destination for an early-season break.

Wandering around the charming capital Valletta. Built by the Knights of Malta in the 1570s, it is surrounded on three sides by sea and on all sides by massive fortifications designed to repel further attempts at invasion by the Turks who nearly took the islands in the Great Siege of 1565. The whole city is a World Heritage Site.

Then look down from the Upper Barracca Gardens and the bastion walls at the Grand Harbour, which was crucial to the Allied victory in North Africa, and remained the Mediterranean home of the Royal Navy until 1979. Be dazzled by the…to read the rest of the article click here

For more information and a Malta profile including Malta hotels visit www.yourmalta.com

Malta is attracting a new generation of visitors, for it’s club scene, and The Independent newspaper in the UK recently reported:

This year clubland serves up some surprises when it comes to hotspots and the biggest comes from a small Mediterranean island.

Forget Ibiza, Malta, traditional favourite of OAP package holidaymakers is now a magnet for Europe’s young and restless.

Characterised by superb value, Malta’s huge open-air clubs, including Gianpula (gianpula .com) and Numero Uno (clubnumero uno.com), have lately been attracting big-name DJs such as Tiësto and Deadmau5, which in turn has brought in established dance music brands including Creamfields, Ministry of Sound and MTV for the busy summer festival months.

The “season” goes year-round, and a whopping 12,000 local clubbers are said to hit the dance floors at weekends (that’s about three per cent of the population – double the UK’s figures) with most of the clubs and bars concentrated in the aptly named Paceville, in the island’s north-east.

“And it’s not all about raving,” says Mixmag news editor, Nick Stevenson. “Malta is also a great place to chill out with new resorts like Fortina [hotelfortina.com] offering five-star spa treatments and quality food, ideal for detoxing and refuelling between punishing bouts on the dancefloor. And on the neighbouring island of Gozo, La Grotta has to be one of the most beautiful clubs around, carved right into a cliff face.”

Those with a bigger budget should head for Brazil. According to DJ Magazine’s editor, Ben Murphy, it’s an emerging club destination for both the growing Brazilian middle class and international clubbers. “Brazil has some extraordinary clubs, already firmly established on the underground scene but beginning to draw much wider attention.” Top of the exotic spots is Green Valley (greenvalley .art.br), a vast, outdoor venue that opened in 2008 but is already a place of pilgrimage for long-haul clubbers. Set an hour south of Sao Paolo, this mega venue holds 6,000 revellers and comes with its own hair salon. “It’s more of a community than a club,” says Murphy. Another rising star in the same region, is Warung (warungclub .com.br) an Indonesian-themed beachfront club which is getting so popular that some are worried about it becoming overrun. “Brazil is where Ibiza was a couple of decades ago,” says Murphy. “Only a bit cooler.”

Back in Europe, Berlin continues to be a massive draw for underground clubbers, led by Berghain (berghain .de), an imposing warehouse in a bleak industrial estate on the city’s outskirts. “This place is still incredibly underground,” says Murphy. “No photographers are allowed inside and the door policy is a mysterious law unto itself. They have the world’s best DJs from the underground scene, everything from techno to dubstep, and a very mixed, international gay/straight crowd. It’s truly bacchanalian.” Watergate (water-gate.de) on the banks of the River Spree is another Berlin hub, complete with an outdoor sunrise deck and LED lights that dance a Technicolor rainbow in time to the music.

As a European Capital of Culture that comes without the euro, Istanbul (istanbul2010.org) offers decent value for money and, this year, has everything from urban arts gatherings, to rooftop bars and underground clubs. New bars such as Faces (faces istanbul.com) look set to draw locals and Capital of Culture-vultures alike, while established venues such as Indigo (livingindigo.com) are now pulling international DJ names.

But if you like your club culture to come with plenty of bling, there’s nowhere like Las Vegas. America’s Sin City is trying to shake off its theme-park image, building stylish hotels and top-notch restaurants. The clubs are also getting a make-over, no more populated by lounge crooners but DJs such as Paul Oakenfold. In Elvis-style, Oakenfold has residency at The Palms hotel, at the Rain nightclub (palms .com), with trapeze acts and million-dollar light shows alongside.

But what of Ibiza? The prototype clubber’s isle is still going strong but with high door charges, it’s not credit-crunch friendly. “But it’s still a great all-round holiday destination,” says Murphy. “And there are some alternative/cheaper nights, such as Ibiza Rocks and Reclaim the Dancefloor, which brings in a more inde crowd.”

If you want your pounds to stretch right around the clock, it’s either Malta, Berlin (such good-value producers and DJs are relocating there in droves, breeding a creative hub for dance music) or further east to Budapest.

Here, clubs sell drinks for as little as a pound and events such as the Sziget festival (sziget.hu) attract the likes of Prodigy and Armin van Buuren, with half the ticket costs of equivalent central European festivals. Croatia, with the Garden Festival (thegarden festival.eu) and Electric Elephant (electricelephant.co.uk) are other notables, while venues in Romania, along the Black Sea coast, score top marks from club cognoscenti for energy and affordability.

Equally cheap and cheerful, mainstream brands including Club 18-30 (club18-30.com) are cashing in on the big-name DJ act, securing partnerships with the likes of Ministry of Sound, Judge Jules and Hed Kandi at their club resorts in the Med, Greece and Turkey.

And the Alps are big this year with new events aimed at clubbers who want to squeeze in a bit of mountain sports between parties.

New for 2010 is The Big Snow Festival (thebigsnowfestival.com) in Andorra.

Hosting acts including Pendulum, Eddie Halliwell and Calvin Harris, it looks set to compete with established events such as Austria’s Snow Bombing (snowbombing.com). This year, Snowbombing welcomes back Fatboy Slim, who will headline after stepping down in 2009 to check into rehab. Take heed clubbers!

More information for Malta, including Malta hotels and Malta holidays are at http://www.yourmalta.com

Valletta Malta

Good news for Malta - ABTA - the Association of British Travel Agents - has chosen the island for their next annual conference.

Last year it was held in Tenerife.

Travel Weekly report:

The Malta Tourism Authority hopes ABTA’s decision to hold this year’s Travel Convention in the country will help reverse a fall in visitor numbers.

British arrivals fell by 8% last year to about 420,000, said Alex Incorvaja, the tourist board’s director for the UK and Ireland.

While the credit crunch and the pound’s fall against the euro both played a part in the downswing, he said hosting the convention would help boost the UK trade’s awareness of the Mediterranean destination.

Incorvaja added: “Just over 35% of all visitors are from the UK, and tour operators and travel agents represent a big chunk of that.”

About half of British arrivals book packages, but official GfK Ascent-MI statistics suggest Malta is not taking advantage of an increased demand for all-inclusive holidays and more flexible eight to 13-night durations, possibly due to a lack of airlift.

The convention will be held at the Hilton Malta Hotel at Portomaso St Julian’s near the island’s capital Valletta.

ABTA chairman John McEwan said: “The Malta Tourism Authority was extremely keen to host the ABTA convention; not only is it a lovely island but they have given us an extremely competitive package.”

The choice of Malta ends a four-year run of the convention being hosted by Spain.   It will be held on October 18-20 and is expected to attract 1,000 delegates, about a third of whom will be travel agents.

Sliema

Are you visiting Malta in March - and celebrating your birthday while on the island?

Good news - book into the Palace Hotel in Sliema - review at http://www.yourmalta.com/hotels - and they will give you dinner on the house on your birthday at their TemptAsian restaurant!

Even if it’s not your birthday when you visit for a holiday, the Palace in Sliema is well worth considering as your hotel as it does get good customer satisfaction rates.