Data compiled by Google show that for the second year in a row, during NYE 2021 recreation establishments and retail shops in Malta were relatively the best performing across the European Union. 

Despite restrictions, the mobility of Maltese and Gozitans to retail establishments and recreation venues was virtually unchanged from that observed before the pandemic.

This was a much better result than that observed in most countries.

The worst affected once more were establishments in Slovakia where movement to shops and leisure venues was 60% lower than in 2019.

In about 11 countries the decline of activity on New Year’s Eve exceeded a third of their pre-pandemic activity.

Nowhere in the European Union, except in Malta was there a decline of less than a tenth of previous activity. In Italy and France, for instance, footfall in shops and entertainment venues was almost 20% lower.

Nevertheless, in all countries, Finland excluded, activity on NYE 2021 was better than that on NYE 2020.

In 2020 there were 22 countries in which the reduction in activity was at least one third of pre-pandemic levels. This is twice the number of countries that suffered this impact in 2021.

Even in Malta, activity in NYE 2021 was better than in NYE 2020, even if NYE 2020 in Malta had also featured as the best relative level of activity in the European Union.

The improvement in our country’s performance continues to consolidate the stronger economic momentum of our recovery.

This reflects the fact that Maltese families are facing much less burdens than the average family in the European Union. The latter are facing an inflation rate which is more than twice the Maltese rate, as they are currently facing among the highest electricity and fuel bills in recent history.

On average, a Maltese consumer is currently paying a fifth less per litre of diesel than a European consumer.

At the same time families in our country are paying on average almost half of what an average European consumer spends per unit of electricity consumed.