businesstravelerusa.com SEPTEMBER 201921ABOVE: The Basilica
of Our Lady of
Mount Carmel was
rebuilt after the
Second World War“The Island’s unique
landscape and rich
heritage provide a
grand backdrop for
memorable events”ANSUD/ISTOCK
sectors paying a flat income-tax rate of just 15
percent on income up to €5 million ($6.21
million), and tax-free above that amount. For
smaller companies, Malta’s low minimum wage
€4.24 an hour ($4.73), compared with federal
minimum wage of $15 an hour as proposed in
the US is an added incentive.EMPIRE DAYS
For a century and a half, between kicking
Napoleon out in the early 1800s and independence in
the 1960s, Malta was part of the British Empire. The
British influence is still widespread. Most obvious
is the fact that everyone speaks excellent English
as a second language. In business transactions and
legislation, English has equal billing with Maltese.
“The way we conduct business has a very British
flavor,” Vella says when asked to describe office
culture. “But it’s coupled with Mediterranean flair.
We’re quite formal but very friendly at the same time.”
Initial e-mail correspondence and business meetings are
punctilious, she explains. “Once trust is built, you start
to drop the formal barriers.”
Business attire tends to be conservative, too. “Full
suit and tie. Dress is quite traditional,” Vella says. “But
it’s starting to change because you see more start-ups in
Malta, where it’s much more casual attire.”
Further evidence of the British influence is driving
on the left side of the road. Well, parking on the leftside, since the skinny, winding streets of the island
struggle to cope with the tens of thousands of cars
which regularly get snarled up. (This is the fifth most
densely populated country on the planet, with more
than 3,900 people per square mile.)CROWD PLEASING
Yet you never forget you’re in the Med. The rocky
coastline is saturated with holiday apartment
buildings, restaurants and harbors, which, at the
height of the tourist season, bulge at the seams.
Prettiest of all is the capital city. The smallest in
the EU, Valletta is a gem, protected by limestone
fortifications at its western end, and by the sea on the
other three sides. In just a few hours you can explore its
tight rectangular grid of streets and stairways lined with
Baroque churches, palaces, forts and townhouses, and
graced by all manner of restaurants, bars and museums.
Its UNESCO World Heritage status is well deserved,
even taking into account the many abandoned and
crumbling buildings.
South of Valletta is the Grand Harbor, with its
dockyards, marinas and cruise ship port. Here, Malta’s
ages-old maritime industry, perfectly positioned at
the crossroads of the Med’s east-west shipping lanes
and with favorable tax regulations, is in full view.
The Maltese government claims its ship registry is
the largest in Europe and sixth largest in the world.
Construction is under way on the Mediterranean →