A government delegation's trip to Old Trafford to renew a tourism promotion deal between Malta and Manchester United cost taxpayers €6,600.

Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo disclosed the sum in reply to a parliamentary question by PN MP Jerome Caruana Cilia on Monday.

Bartolo and a number of government officials flew to the UK in August to extend the sponsorship deal with the football club by five years. Its purpose is to promote the island as a tourist destination for another five years.

Bartolo refused to say how much it costs the government to have the football club name Malta as its "official destination partner".

"Given the commercial nature of the contract, that information cannot be disclosed," Bartolo told Caruana Cilia.

At least two other government officials accompanied Bartolo in Manchester - his ministry’s permanent secretary Anthony Gatt and Malta Tourism Authority CEO Carlo Micallef. 

The original deal between Malta and Manchester United was sealed in September 2019 for a three-year period.

That deal could not have come at a worse time. The COVID-19 pandemic broke out six months later forcing countries to close down airports and football stadiums.

When the deal was renewed last August, Bartolo said it would give Malta strong exposure and that the deal would boost Malta’s image in places like the  US, Asia and the Middle East, where Manchester United enjoys large fan bases.