Not only has their choice of airline and airports serving Malta widened considerably, but the perennial favourite of many business and holiday travellers, Air Malta, has fought back against the new low cost airlines with reduced fares and offers of their own.

In their traditional market of flights from the UK to Malta, the airline started a new route from Liverpool's John Lennon airport in May, serving the north-west of England.

As part of their offensive to retain current passengers and to tempt new ones to use the airline, Air Malta are offering clients the opportunity to book flights in advance for this autumn and winter with prices starting from around 20 Euros (around US $25).

If successful the extra tourists for Malta in her off-peak months will be a welcome boost for the island's hotels and holiday trade, coming off the back of a summer that could see a ten per cent rise in arrivals compared to last year.

With official tourism office statistics showing the rise in visitor figures for 2007 compared to 2006, a long period of decline has been reversed for people taking holidays in Malta.

With tourism numbers up, tourism chiefs have seen the magic bullet that has driven the statistics, and also embraced the concept of low air fares.

While Malta has previously received most of their visitors from the UK, the idea of diversification has become possible as low cost airlines operate from most European countries, and the island is already receiving flights from Germany and Spain.

The country has let it be known that they will welcome applications for flights from Scandanavia and other areas of Europe.

The u-turn is now complete, from a backward looking slow to respond tourist office, to one that sees a quick fix to Malta's previous declining popularity as a holiday destination.

Helping Malta's image in the UK, Germany and other countries have been reports placing Malta at the top of tourist safety tables.

An American journalist last year placed the small Mediterranean island of Malta as one of the five safest travel destinations in the world, and a new report from the US this year confirms Malta as one of the safest vacation spots in the world.

This year's report bears more official weight than the previous one by a travel writer, as it was compiled by the US State Department.

Commenting on Malta, the report praises the island for the non existence of organised crime, especially surprising perhaps given her proximity to mainland Italy - and closer still to Sicily.

A surprise for many who have driven in Malta is that the report considers the island's roads to be safe. But this is backed up by official EU figures showing Malta has the lowest road related fatalities in the EU.