Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/831240
maltatoday, THURSDAY, 1 JUNE 2017 III During this legislature, we launched the Foundation for Tourism Zone Development. The main objective of this foundation is to improve the attractiveness of tourist areas, and to ensure that Government meets the targets for a sustainable tourism environment that supports growth prospects in the industry, while ensuring effective maintenance of public areas. This is being done through projects such as the €3.5 million investment for the improvement of the roads network in and around the Bugibba, Qawra and St. Paul's Bay area. In 2016, the number of tourists who visited Gozo reached the figure of 1.15 million, while the number of foreign visitors who chose to spend their holiday, or part of their holiday, on our sister island, increased by almost 15% when compared with 2015. Indeed, since the beginning of this legislature, the number of nights spent by foreign tourists in Gozo increasedby a remarkable 40%. TOURISM SECTOR IN GOZO HAS ACHIEVED UNPRECEDENTED MILESTONES WE HAVE EXPANDED THE AVIATION SECTOR. The inauguration of a new radar station at Fawwara, a project costing €2.5 million, will enable us to compete for large projects in this sector, something we were unable of doing before. Malta is now also a signatory of the Cape Town Convention. This is an international treaty intended to establish international standards for the registration of contracts of sale, security interests, leases, and the variation of legal remedies for failed financial agreements. The amendments to the Act on the Registration of Aircraft, including Chapter 503, as well other laws that are ancillary to this Act, take into consideration future developments in this sector in Malta. The objective is to ensure that the sector remains competitive and efficient, while exploiting any opportunities, in order for us to become a leader in the aviation sector. The Malta Film Fund offers two types of funding opportunities, one for development and another for production. The Malta Film Commission has announced a total of five schemes, with the introduction of two new initiatives within the scope of its funding capability, while extending assistance to qualifying projects. We have seen the launch of the first ever film related postgraduate programme being offered in Malta, a Master of Arts in Film Studies, which will focus exclusively on cinematic art and the film industry. The rationale behind this course is to offer graduates a sound theoretical and practical basis in all aspects of cinematography, after which they can specialise, within the same programme, in the field they deem most suitable. Films which were shot in Malta over the past four years include 13 Hours, By the Sea, World War Z, Assassin's Creed, Risen, The Dovekeepers, Limestone Cowboy, Entebbe, and others. These are estimated to have injected €159 million in the local economy. funding capability, while extending WE LAUNCHED THE MALTA FILM FUND ITS AT THE HEART OF THE TOURISM GROWTH STRATEGY A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was endorsed upon by ITS and the MHRA will ensure that ITS students are sponsored by operators in the tourism and hospitality sector. During the whole term of their sponsorship, students will gain important hands-on experience of the local industry that will complement their studies. In a landmark development, ITS students are now receiving an annual grant of €233. Government also announced a major investment of €70 million for the new modern ITS campus at Smart City. Described as state-of-the-art, this campus will become a centre of excellence for tourism studies within the Mediterranean. Together with Malta Enterprise, the ITS will be launching a financial incentive scheme to support establishments in the catering sector who want to attract international chefs to Malta and Gozo. This will also ensure skills transfer to local talent through on-the-job training while elevating the quality of the service and product.to skill transfer to Maltese workers. is to improve the THE FOUNDATION FOR TOURISM ZONE DEVELOPMENT