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Malta: Last minute holiday destination for summer?

by: Sarah Maple
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At a time of continued speculation about the affect of the recession on a number of European holiday destinations, the Mediterranean archipelago of Malta is the latest country to receive negative predictions in the press. According to predictions made by yourmalta.com, whilst the country has seen an increase in visitor numbers over the last few years - stimulated by low cost flights and cheap deals - bookings could fall by as much as 20 percent in 2009 unless we see a rush of bookings of last minute holidays.

Despite such doom and gloom (which has also been predicted for other areas of the Eurozone), there are many aspects of Malta described across the media that are being tipped to maintain its reputation as an unforgettable and low-cost holiday destination. In fact, one of its most important attributes according to yourmalta.com is the abundance of cheap flights to the area.

However, the country has a number of other aspects set to lure the unconvinced holidaymaker. A recent report in a North American water sports magazine, Diver, cited Malta as the third best diving destination in the world, beaten only by Egypt and the Maldives. In total, the coastline boasts 140 kilometres of coastline to explore, with reefs, golden sands, stunning Mediterranean wildlife, and an interesting maritime history.

One of the other benefits of Malta is its small size, making it very easy to sample all of its delights. If sea-based activities don't take your fancy so much, the country is also home to a number of UNESCO-listed Megalithic temples. Ġgantija, on the northern island of Gozo, is considered one of the world's oldest man-made structures and dates from around 3000BC. The structure actually contains two separate temple structures and is said to have been built by giants.

The country also boasts a long history of Roman Catholicism, and is home to a great number of more modern architectural delights displaying this. St. Paul's Cathedral in Medina is a notable example, and includes impressive frescoes and artefacts that date from the 15th Century. Just outside of Medina, the Domas Romana is a Roman villa of which was first discovered in the 19th Century, however in the early 1900s further investigations unveiled mosaics, columns, coins, and inscriptions that make the attraction famous today.

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