Beautiful Virgin Islands

Sunday, Sep 21, 2025

This is how much you could get paid to visit Malta this summer

This is how much you could get paid to visit Malta this summer

The Mediterranean island is working with hotels to provide some serious discounts as part of its COVID recovery.

Malta is the first country to confirm it will pay people to visit this summer, in an effort to recoup COVID-related tourism losses.

The Mediterranean island brings in a surplus of 2 million inbound travellers each year and hopes to encourage some of them back with its new scheme, Incentives for Free Independent Travellers (FIT).

Guests can expect to receive a government subsidy depending on the duration of their stay, the star-rating of the hotel visited and the area they go to. Whatever the government puts in will be matched by the hotels that sign up to the scheme, with a maximum saving of €200 per person.

The average fortnight accomodation for two people in Malta is approximately €1,400, meaning pairs could see their hotel stays discounted by almost a third.

Here’s what you need to know about the scheme and how to get involved.

Why Malta?


Because the island relies heavily on tourism. The sun-filled paradise is bursting with food, culture and seemingly endless beaches that make up more of its GDP than that of its neighbours Italy and Greece. Visitor numbers have dropped by 80 per cent in the past year, sending shockwaves through its economy.

Malta is one of the first European countries making concrete tourism plans because it has fared a lot better than others in coping with COVID cases.

In fact, its total case rate of the past year is less than what other countries have reached per day.

How much will I get paid?


This all depends on the type of hotel you’re staying in - up to €200 is up for grabs per person.

Tourists staying at five star hotels will get €100 off their stay, which will be matched by the Maltese government. The same applies to those staying in three and four star hotels, where each person will save a total of €100 and €175 respectively.

People visiting the neighbouring island of Gozo will be paid an additional 10 per cent discount for their stay.

Who is the scheme for?


The scheme is specifically catered to "free individual travellers" - meaning people who book their own trips rather than using a holiday package or agent. It aims to attract as many as 35,000 tourists.

Other than that, it’s open to anybody with a desire to explore the country without bringing COVID along with them.

When does the scheme start?


Malta intends to lift its travel restrictions on June 1st, so the scheme will begin then.

People could be holidaying in Malta by June


Will I need a vaccination?


Malta is opening its borders to any visitor that can provide proof they have been vaccinated over 10 days before arriving.

They’re able to invite foreign travellers back into the country with such confidence because their vaccine rollout is going incredibly well. After the UK, it is the best in Europe.

Where can I stay?


Applications are open to all hotels that want to get involved with the scheme. It is expected that the majority of locations around the island will get on board to appeal to as many visitors as possible, old and new.

Who is funding it?


It’s going to be less pricey than you might imagine, but still a huge investment.

The Tourism Authority has allocated €3.5m for the scheme, and hopes to attract 35,000 visitors through it.

Malta’s Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo says the scheme is “aimed at putting Malta’s hotels in a very competitive position as international tourism restarts”.

Is it safe to travel to Malta?


Malta is confident in making these plans because of a combination of its vaccination scheme and low case rates.

Everyone making travel plans is expected to follow the guidelines of their respective home and destination countries.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
EU Set to Bar Big Tech from New Financial Data Access Scheme
China Bans Livestreaming and AI in Religion Amid Crackdown on Shaolin Temple Scandal
Documents Reveal Mandelson Failed to Declare Epstein-Funded Flights as MP in 2003
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Harris Memoir Sparks Backlash from Democrats for Blunt Critiques in ‘107 Days’
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Japan’s ‘Death-Tainted’ Homes Gain Appeal as Prices Soar in Tokyo
Massive Attack Withdraws from Spotify Over Daniel Ek’s €600M Defence-AI Investment
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders Third Lethal Strike on Drug-Trafficking Vessel as U.S. Expands Maritime Counter-Narcotics Operations
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
Why Google Search Is Fading and AI Is Taking Its Place
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Federal Judge Dismisses Trump’s Fifteen-Billion-Dollar Suit Against New York Times, Orders Refile
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
DeepSeek Claims R1 Model Trained for only $294,000, Sparking Global Debate Over China’s AI Capabilities
SoftBank Vision Fund to Cut Nearly Twenty Percent of Staff in Bold AI Strategy Shift
Intel’s Next-Gen Manufacturing Gets a Lifeline from Nvidia’s Strategic $5B Deal
Erika Kirk Elected CEO of Turning Point USA After Husband Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
Massive Strikes in France Pressure Macron and New PM on Austerity Proposals
Trump Seeks Supreme Court Permission to Remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook
Hillary Clinton’s Reckless Rhetoric Fuels Division After Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
NASDAQ Rises to Record as Intel Soars More Than 20%, Nvidia Gains 3%
Nvidia’s $5 Billion Bet on Intel Reshapes AI Hardware Landscape
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Trump’s Quip on Biden and Google Lawsuit Revives Debate Over Antitrust Legacy
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
×