CAPITAL VALLETTA - POPULATION 401,880 - AREA 316 SQ KM - OFFICIAL LANGUAGES MALTESE, ENGLISH
Malta was in the tourism doldrums until it finally welcomed low-cost airlines in 2007. Things picked up as a new type of traveler was transported to the south Med and a hip crowd flocked to the Isle of MTV music-fest, so popular it's set to rock Valletta every June until 2010. But is it all about to go Pete Tong? The adoption of the euro in 2008 could mean off-putting price hikes, though early indicators show costs haven't rocketed – good news for those keen to stroll fortified Mdina, nip over to little-developed sister island Gozo for a farmhouse stay, or down a rum in The Pub, where Gladiator-filming Oliver Reed drank his last. |
