Why we aspire to be a Region of Sport

Neptunes WPSC

As one of the leading waterpolo and swimming clubs in Malta, established in 1929, the waterpolo sports centre premises are situated in the picturesque Balluta Bay at San Ġiljan and offers facilities to swimmers and waterpolo players alike, that are the best available on the island. The freshwater pool can be heated during the winter months and is 33.3 metres long and 22.5 metres wide. A fully equipped fitness centre, changing rooms and showers are also available on the premises.

St George’s Bay Beach

St Georges Bay is one of the most attractive sandy beaches in Malta. Located at the heart of the entertainment mecca known as Paceville in San Ġiljan, it is the place where many tourists and students like to take a dip into our clean Maltese waters. It is a location within San Ġiljan where a large percentage of hotels, restaurants, nightlife, and various English-language schools are located. The beach is ideal for sports activites such as beach volley, beach soccer, underwater diving and water skiing. L-IMSIDA

Msida Marina

The 720 berth Msida and Ta' Xbiex Marina, operated by Creek Developments Plc, can handle pleasure yachts of up to 22m in length. Long sought-after for the convenient central location and the shelter afforded from the prevailing NorthWesterly winds, the marina is also naturally protected from other wind directions, while the breakwater protects against a North-Easterly swell.

Msida Outdoor Skate Park

The largest skate park in Malta is located within one of Msida's central roundabouts which is found in close proximity to the University Of Malta. It is a concrete skate park. There are no entrance fees and hence anyone is free to visit the park and practice as much one desires.

St Martin's Sports Complex

Located in Imsida, it offers several facilities to the local and international sports and leisure community. The facilities comprises of a Multi-Purpose Sports Hall (basketball, handball, volleyball, futsal, badminton, etc.), three artificial turf 5-a-side pitches, two tennis courts, a hostel (with lodging for up to 90 persons), cafeteria and classrooms for meetings, conferences and more. St Martin's Sports Complex is situated in a very centralised location in l-Imsida, just opposite the new Mater Dei Hospital, with regular buses servicing the area.

Promotion of Sport Tourism in the Region

Around half of Malta’s population relates to the tourism industry directly or indirectly. Since 2019, Malta has reached the 2.8 million tourist mark. This meant that we had to find a solution to bridge tourism with sport thus promoting the sporting industry in Malta further. Through the help of the Malta Tourism Authority and Sportmalta, this niche is being promoted regularly by organizing events to attract tourists specifically to participate in sport. Cities from the Central Region of Malta namely Sliema, San Ġiljan, Ġżira, Imsida and Ta’ Xbiex are all contributing through the help of their respective local councils.

Tourism in Malta is an important sector of the country's economy, contributing to about 15 % of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP). More than half of this percentage is generated in the Central Region. All this is overseen by the Malta Tourism Authority, which falls under the responsibility of the Minister for Tourism.

Malta and the five local regions including the Central Region features a number of tourism attractions encompassing elements of the island's rich history and culture, as well as aquatic activities associated with our Mediterranean culture.

Before the Covid-19 outbreak, the National Statistics Office revealed, an increase of 5.9% in tourism over 2018. Total nights spent by inbound tourists went up by 4.1%, surpassing 19.3 million nights. The total tourism expenditure was estimated at €2.2 billion, 5.7% higher than that recorded in 2018 and the total expenditure per capita stood at €807.

It estimated that in 2019, 190,000 visiting tourists participated in sporting activities, the most popular of course being diving but in recent years other activities such as abseiling and kayaking have considerably increased in popularity.

Sports tourism has grown considerably over the past 12 months, particularly through Malta training camps in the MFA Grounds at Attard from a number of international football teams, that has yielded over €5 million in the economy.

A number of studies, showed that through a joint-effort by Malta Tourism Authoriy, the Malta FA and Sports Plus Ltd, these training camps have generated 30,000 bednights, the majority of these, benifited localities such as Sliema, San Ġiljan and Gżira due to the numerous hotels situated in the Central Region.

Sports tourism has been increasing significantly over the past years and further growth is expected in the future. International Sports Tourism is defined as any trip of one night and over made outside one's normal country of residence, during which athletic activities predominate.

Participant sports tourists can be classified into two main categories, recreational and competitive. Recreational sports tourists travel to engage in sporting activities for fun, whilst competitive sports tourists travel to train in their particular sport or to participate