Malta has become the first country to be placed on Denmark's yellow list for travel category, with the Danish authorities advising against non-essential travel to all other countries.

Effectively, this means that Danish tourists can visit Malta, with no quarantine or isolation requirement upon their return.

This follows similar travel advice by Germany some days ago when the country removed Malta from its COVID-19 risk list.

Germany’s move had come on the same day as the UK's surprise announcement that Malta has been left off its green list of travel destinations, despite low numbers of infections. 

In a statement welcoming Denmark’s decision, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo said the government’s strategy of a strong vaccination rollout complimented with restrictive measures aimed at being eased in a gradual manner was “the main ingredients behind this sterling news”.

The Scandinavian market, he said, remained crucial for a small island state like Malta in attracting high-quality tourism to the country.

Opening the tourism industry in a responsible manner is key to ensure a sustainable future for one of the major pillars of the Maltese economy, Bartolo said.

Malta Tourism Authority CEO Johann Buttigieg said it was reassuring to see that the sacrifices made by the businesses and the people over the past months, together with an efficient vaccination programme, were bearing fruit.

This was evident not just through the decrease in active cases, but also through bilateral decisions such as the one by Germany and Denmark.

“The MTA has been striving to ensure that Malta will not only attract tourists because of its beaches, great weather and delicious food, but also because of the fact that it is one of the safest destinations in Europe. We look forward to further announcements by other European countries, hopefully in the coming days,” Buttigieg said.