This country will pay tourists up to 200 euros (Rs 18,000) in discounts who visit this summer

Valletta, Apr 10: Located about 50 miles south of Sicily in the Mediterranean, Malta plans to offer foreign visitors a handout of up to 200 euros (Rs 17,786.85) each if they stay at least three days on the island this summer.

Both vaccinated and unvaccinated tourists will be welcomed to the island of Malta from June 1st 2021.

With an aim to revive its tourism industry, eighteen airlines, including Air Malta, are expected to fly to Malta this summer, making up some 70% of the routes the island had back in 2019.

Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo announced the scheme on Friday, saying that with most Covid restrictions expected to be lifted by June 1, tourists booking summer holidays directly through local hotels would receive the handout.

"The scheme is aimed at putting Malta's hotels in a very competitive position as international tourism restarts," Bartolo said.

It should be noted that Malta has managed to handle the COVID-19 pandemic in a manner which was praised by the World Health Organisation, the EU and even the Commonwealth.