Malta, a small island country in the Mediterranean Sea, is eyeing a 20 percent growth in Indian tourist arrivals this year.

Around 4,000 Indian tourists visited Malta in 2017.

"With India being one of the biggest emerging markets for tourism in Malta, we want to tap its potential. We expect the number of tourists will continue to increase in the coming years," Malta tourism minister Konrad Mizzi told PTI.

The minister further said he expects the footfalls from India to grow over 20 percent in 2018.

"Our vision is to register sustained increases of tourism from the Indian market," he added.

Mizzi said the film industry will boost the tourism, with initiatives like the Malta-India Film Festival, a three-day event starting December 14 in Malta, along with incentives for filmmakers, which is being reviewed to address the industry needs further.

He said there has already been a number of tie-ups established with major production companies in Bollywood.

Malta, he said, is connected with India with direct flights to and from all major European cities and airport hubs, as well as north Africa, with daily connections to most of the major cities in India.

"Talks have focused on enhanced airline connectivity between Malta and India, in order to provide travellers with a much shorter connection to Europe, as well as a hub for connectivity to both Europe and north Africa," he added.

The country is looking to promote itself as an all-year-round destination, with heritage all around and diving and adventure opportunities, he said.

It is in talks with Maharashtra government and Bollywood on promoting and marketing both the countries for tourism, according to Mizzi.

First Published:Aug 10, 2018 2:24 PM IST