Chitika

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Transportation in Malta

By Cecille Haven


The Mediterranean is home to one of the most visited tourist destination, Malta. It maybe luxury holidays to Malta or cheap bundled tours, you are guaranteed a grand time with the experience. The archipelagic republic has a yearly tourist of volume of 1.2 million visitors, and that number is still going up. During peak season, tourists outnumber locals 3 to 1. Luxury hotels, white and golden sand beaches, and other tourist facilities that are at par with high-class destinations are what helped spark the increase in tourists every year.

Recently, Malta is now looking at medical tourism in the country. Health care providers are now helping in the development of medical tourism in the country. The government in Malta has targeted medical tourists not only in Britain, but also in the United States, the Far East and Latin America.

One of the things that make Malta an excellent tourist destination is its transportation. Indeed, for a considerably small archipelago, Malta has one of the best and most effective transportation systems in the world.

* Malta has an extensive road network for a small archipelago. It has over 2,254 of roads. 84 percent of it, or around 1,972 kilometers, is paved. The remaining 16% upaved roadways can be travelled using off-road vehicles.

* Putting the size of the whole island into consideration, the number of people owning a car in the island is considerably high. Car ownership in the island ranked as the fourth highest in the entire European Union. Registered cars reached to over 180,000 in 1990, and that number continues to increase. That's around 582 cars per square kilometer!

* Travelling around Malta is easy. Buses are the primary public transportation vehicle for both locals and tourists. The bus lines were established in 1905. Then in 2011, the lines undertook a major overhaul. Drivers, who were recently self-employed and driving their own buses, were offered the opportunity to drive for a single company through the help of a public tender. Arriva Malta was the public tender in reference and is now Malta's main bus operator. Arriva operates a fleet of 264 modern buses. It also operates 2 small buses for intra-Valleta routes. These buses operate 24 hours everyday.

* Malta once had a railway that connected Mtarfa and Valletta via Mdina between 1883 and 1931. Following the introduction of modern electric trams and buses, the railway eventually closed. The railway hasn't been in operation even before World War 2, and the rails have long since been dismantled.

* The Malta International Airport functions as an air hub in the entire island as tourists coming from other countries land there. The tarmac was built over a Royal Ari Force base during The Second World War. There used to be a heliport near the area, but it was dismantled in 2006. The heliport is now situated in Xewkija. Furthermore, two smaller airfields that serve as terminals for small, private aircraft existed; today, they're closed. The Ta' Quali, one of the smaller airfields, now houses a stadium, a national park, and the Malta Aviation Museum. The museum is a haven for aircraft enthusiasts as it is equipped with real Hurricanes, Spitfires, and other World War 2 aircraft.

* There are three large harbours on the main island, all natural thanks to Malta's unique location. First, the Grand Harbor features a cruise ship terminal and an extensive number of docks. Second, the Marxsamxett Harbor features a number of marinas for personal yachts. Lastly, the Marsaxlokk Harbor handles cargo ships.




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