Malta seeking direct flight linking China

Malta is probably going to have direct flight connecting with China in October 2015, the archipelago's Minister for Tourism Edward Zammit Lewis said Thurday.

In an interview with Xinhua just one day ahead of the "Across Golden Bridge" China-Malta Culture and Media Forum scheduled for Friday, Lewis confirmed that the Maltese government is currently under negotiation with a Chinese airlines, the fourth largest carrier by fleet size on the Chinese mainland.

Malta is preparing a whole travel package to attract Chinese tourists, the minister said, adding that tourism booklet and promotional materials issued by the Malta Tourism Authority will be available in Chinese language by the end of this year.

He said the ministry's medium-term target is to have 100,000 Chinese visitors every year, roughly one sixteenth of the overall number of tourists Malta expected to receive this year.

Speaking at Valletta's Lower Barraka Garden, which was specially chosen by the minister himself to overlook the picturesque Grand Harbour, Lewis said the cruise liners docking in Grand Harbour bring half a million passengers to Malta every year, adding that the government is also developing cruise tour for Chinese tourists.

"We can combine a holiday to Malta then a visit for a week to different destinations either to the west or to the east of the Mediterranean or other important destinations which will be attractive for the Chinese tourists," he said.

The tourism sector has a direct contribution of more than 30 percent of the archipelago's gross domestic product.