The Gozo Discovery Bus
As a result of an EU Project, in which the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta is participating, a tourist discovery bus service was introduced in Gozo for a trial period of 3 weeks between the 16th July and 6 August 2008. The project is part of Interreg III B Archimed programmes.
Attracting Tourists to Gozo
The purpose of this service is to enable tourists to visit sites of major interest on the Island of Gozo that cannot be easily reached by public transport. The idea of this service had for long been debated by the Gozo Tourism Association and was then the result of several consultation meetings between local authorities and enterprises with an interest in tourism. This service is intended to encourage more tourists to visit the island of Gozo with an increased possibility of staying in local Gozo hotels rather than visiting the island for the day. Stayover tourist generate more employment and income in Gozo than is the case with day trippers, thus rendering the tourism industry in Gozo more sustainable.
This discovery bus service can also be useful to the Maltese tourists who visit Gozo. The service which is in the form of a hop-on hop-off is currently free of charge, but only for this trial period. It is being proposed that this service will continue to operate at a modest fee.
The buses leave Victoria from Sabina Square with final destination being Sabina Square. There is a short interval at each destination where tourists can just go down and take some pictures and then board again to continue with the tour. View timetable here
