The ministry with SUNx are aiming to take the lead in a global effort aimed at converting the threat of global climate change into an opportunity. The Global Centre for Climate Friendly Travel will launch measures accordingly. Malta will aim to deliver a number of initiatives designed to support the sector in its transformation, in collaboration with SUNx.

These initiatives and transformations include an annual review of the “Sector Climate Friendly Travel”, which will be published within the context of the United Nations General Assembly alongside the United Nation’s Secretary General’s Climate Action Summit in September and will be circulated widely amongst industry players, as the DOI press statement says.

In addition, an annual Malta Think Tank and a Climate Friendly travel summit are planned, as well as a public/private collaboration to engage graduate trainees to help deliver transformation in the front line, entitled Plan for Our Kids to put 100,000 STRONG Climate Champions across all United Nations states by 2030

“There is a growing international consensus for a strong shift from talk to action. This is amply evidenced by the political action of the European Union in raising the stakes these past few weeks by announcing the allocation of 1 in every 4 euro of the next budget to climate resilience,” said Minister for Tourism Konrad Mizzi. “This initiative will put Malta at the forefront of this change in creating more climate-friendly travel. We will become the home of SUNx — the Strong Universal Network — a global centre for Climate Friendly Travel following the targets of the Paris Agreement set in 2015.”

SUNx Co-founder Professor Geoffrey Lipman noted that “The reality is that we have a Climate Crisis and that the scientists, the governments, and the next generation are demanding an increased ambition. Travel and Tourism is a pivotal part of human activity and has to be at the leading edge of change.”

“Our collaboration with the government of Malta will provide a new impetus through Climate Friendly Travel, Measured, Green, and 2050-proof: a pathway to the New Climate Economy and 100,000 STRONG Climate Champions by 2030 to help the transformation. This is carrying on the vision of Maurice Strong, the father of Sustainable Development, who believed that Travel and Tourism could be a catalyst for positive change,” Mr Lipman added.

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With its 41.7% slice of the total quarter pie, March saw the highest number of passengers: 477,945.

The number of vehicles increased at a faster rate of 7.1% during the first quarter, as compared to the preceding year, totalling 363,460.

The number of trips was up by 3.6% to 5,449, the majority taking place in March: 2,034 — 37.3% of total trips for the quarter.

Unsurprisingly, the busiest days from Malta to Gozo were Fridays and Saturdays, while Sundays were the busiest from Gozo to Malta. Gozo’s lowest population numbers and more culturally intact nature make the island a popular holiday destination for Maltese residents.

The full report including charts and visual representation of data is available for download at the website of NSO.

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Similarly to last year, Henley & Partners finds that countries with citizenship-by-investment (CBI) hold strong positions on the index programs. On this note, the report underlines Malta’s 9th position, as well as the 27th and 28th spots of St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda, respectively. Moldova was able to hold its 46th place, with citizens offered access to 122 countries.

Japan is at the 1st place on the Henley Passport Index offering visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to 190 destinations, Singapore and South Korea now are jointly at the 2nd place with access to 189 destinations, while Germany and France are at the 3rd place with a visa-free score of 188.

“The enduring appeal of investment migration programs shows that more and more people are embracing alternative citizenship as the best way to access previously unimagined opportunities and improve their passport power,” says Dr Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners. “Additionally, it is no surprise that countries are increasingly looking to launch CBI programs, which attract talented individuals and bring enormous economic and societal benefits,” he adds.

“For some people, a passport is a portal to the world. For others, it is a barrier to the travel freedom they seek,” Henley & Partners says on its website. Their passport index is considered by many to be one of the most rigorous and sophisticated measures of global access.

“The general spread of open-door policies has the potential to contribute billions to the global economy, as well as create significant employment opportunities around the world,” says Dr Christian H. Kälin, Group Chairman of Henley & Partners and the inventor of the Passport Index concept. “South Korea and the United Arab Emirates’ recent ascent in the rankings are further examples of what happens when countries take a proactive foreign affairs approach, an attitude which significantly benefits their citizens as well as the international community,” he adds.

The Henley Passport Index is based on IATA data, enhanced by extensive in-house research, supported by expert commentary, and updated regularly throughout the year, making it the most robust, credible, and reliable index of its kind, according to the official website of the index.

Citizenship by investment schemes

Malta launched its Malta Individual Investor Programme (IIP) at the beginning of 2014, which is an investment citizenship program. “Successful candidates will be granted citizenship in Malta by a Certificate of Naturalization, which can also be extended to include their families,” the official website of Malta Immigration says. Those who receive citizenship can set up businesses in Malta and have the right of establishment in all 28 EU countries and Switzerland.

Up to the date of publication, as the IIP has received more than 1,000 Malta passport applications on behalf of investors from more than 40 different countries, and submission is still open.

However, lately, controversy has arisen in related to investment by citizenship schemes in the European Commission in general. In January, Věra Jourová, the European Commissioner for Justice said that “the European Commission does not endorse the cash-for-passports scheme”, in reaction to Nationalist Party MEP Roberta Metsola’s question criticising such programmes, the MaltaToday reported.

Beyond Malta, Cyprus, Austria, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Portugal also offer such schemes.

The post Malta ranks 9th on Henley Passport Index first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.