BusinessToday Previous Editions

5 NEWS 13.5.2021 Malta's vaccination drive could see tourism rebound in second half of 2021 FROM PAGE 1 UK tourists can travel to the countries on the Green List without needing to quarantine. Portugal including the Azores and Madeira, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands and Israel are on the UK's green travel list, as are remote Ascension Island and South Georgia and South Sandwich Island. Malta made onto the amber list means that UK travellers visiting Malta would have to self-isolate for 10 days upon their return home. Bartolo said the feedback he had re- ceived so far pointed to a positive out- come but insisted the government would remain in constant contact with the UK government and the High Commission until the list is updated. "UK tourism is integral to our industry and welcoming tourists from the UK is a crucial part of our tourist recovery plan," he said. "But we also remain cautious and prudent as we want to ensure that any- thing we put in place now is sustainable over the long run." He said that he had also received en- couraging feedback from local operators who were pointing at July and August as possibly being very strong, if current indi- cations are sustained. In a further boost to the industry's mo- rale, the European Commission yesterday said that Malta's fast vaccination drive, paired with a gradual easing of restric- tions in the EU and a high vaccination rate in the UK, was set to put the tourism sector on the path to recovery in the sec- ond half of the year. "is is precisely what we are forecast- ing and it is why we pushed so hard and are pushing hard to be included in the UK's Green List," he told BusinessToday. Spring Economic forecast The European Commission's Spring 2021 Economic Forecast sees Mal- ta experiencing a robust recovery in 2021 and 2022 once tourism bounces back in the economy. In its report, the Commission points towards Malta's "faster-than-expect- ed rollout of vaccinations" and the situation in the EU and UK markets, as contributors to tourism recovery in the second half of this year. Beyond the tourism sector, which was decimated as a result of the pan- demic, services exports and house- hold consumption contracted sharply in 2020, contributing to a significant fall in Malta's GDP. On the other hand, financial services and gaming sector exports continued to perform robustly. At a wider macroeconomic level, Malta's current account deficit is ex- pected to widen further this year, be- fore decreasing in 2022 with recover- ing exports and imports. Inflation is expected to rise to 1.2% in 2021, and then further increase to 1.5% in 2022. The government deficit, which increased to over 10% of GDP in 2020, is projected to increase again to 11.8% of GDP before declining to 5.5% in 2022. The initial increase in the deficit was due to major spending on pandem- ic-mitigating measures, and on the revenue side, aggravated by a steep fall in household and tourist con- sumption, which led to a drop in indi- rect tax revenue. Corporate tax revenues also took a plunge, reflecting the worsened prof- itability of companies. With regards to government debt, Malta's debt-to-GDP ratio is set to reach 65.5% in 2022. ATLAS Insurance was the sponsor of the Dig- ital Marketing Innovation Award, which was awarded to Candid! during the JAYE (Junior Achievement Young Enterprise) Finals and Awards Night which was held on 9 May. Candid! won the award for their exceptional performance in the field of digital marketing innovation, which today is considered a crucial element in any successful business' strategy. is young enterprise group is made up of four students from St. Aloysius College, who sought to make a sustainable difference by introducing Malta's first-ever biodegradable phone cover. Atlas Insurance congratulates Candid! as well as all the winners at this year's JAYE Finals and Awards Night. Atlas Insurance has been supporting JAYE since 2013. Earlier this year David Cassar, Busi- ness Development & Marketing Manager at At- las Insurance, provided specialised workshops to participating students about the importance of market research as well as the ever-growing, multi-faceted aspects of digital marketing. David Cassar noted how Atlas Insurance made it a point to support youths achieve their full potential, in their personal journeys to- wards becoming successful and upstanding cit- izens tomorrow. He said that the sponsorship of one of JAYE's awards is one of several youth support programmes Atlas has in place. He re- ferred to a host of internships offered by Atlas Insurance which help bolster students' profes- sional and personal careers, as well as e Atlas Youth Athlete of the month which recognises the exceptional performances of young sport- spersons. e Digital Marketing Innovation Award was sponsored and awarded by Atlas Insurance PCC Limited. It formed part of the JAYE Finals & Awards Night which were the culmination of an 8-month entrepreneurial journey for students participating in the post-secondary Company Programme and tertiary level Start- Up Programme. Atlas Insurance supports future entrepreneurs through JAYE Candid! - winners of this year's JAYE Digital Marketing Innovation Award supported by Atlas Insurance

• Cover