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Global travel authority Lonely Planet has today unveiled its top destinations to visit next year with the release of Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2023, and Malta has been awarded the "Top Destination to Unwind" Award, alongside destinations such as Halkidiki in Greece and Jordan, with Lonely Planet saying that Malta has been "much-loved by European visitors for decades," adding that it "is attracting more visitors from around the world, beckoned by its prehistoric temples, fantastic scuba diving and buzzy Valletta, its beautiful capital."

Lonely Planet’s annual marquee moment celebrates their expert predictions for where to go in the year ahead. Showcasing 30 incredible destinations around this globe, Best in Travel 2023 is Lonely Planet’s 18th annual collection of the world’s hottest destinations and the must-have travel experiences for the year ahead. Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2023 recommends 30 must-visit locations around food, journeying, connection, learning, and unwinding.

Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2023 offers a comprehensive set of itineraries aimed at helping travellers to explore the world — while following along with some seriously knowledgeable locally based experts along the way.

The award was presented to Hon Clayton Bartolo, Minister for Tourism; Dr Gavin Gulia and Mr Carlo Micallef, Chairman and CEO of the Malta Tourism Authority, during last week’s World Travel Market in London.

Malta’s profile in the tourism world is rapidly gaining the strong reputation it truly deserves. In the past months, the Malta Tourism Authority has been a proactive catalyst in making sure that the splendour of the Maltese Islands is shared and outreached around the globe," outlined Minister for Tourism Clayton Bartolo.

"Being recognised by Lonely Planet, which can be described as a highly respected global travel institution is a remarkable feat for Malta, even more so this year, when the tourism sector is recovering at such an encouraging pace. I take this opportunity to commend all the staff at MTA Head Office, as well as the overseas MTA Offices and Representation Agencies for constantly ensuring that Malta and Gozo are given the best exposure and promotion abroad, by being innovative and creative when it came to strategies of mainstream and digital marketing. It is only because of these efforts that we are where we are today with a strong recovery of incoming tourist numbers and tourist spend in our Islands. It is only because of the collective effort at MTA, in partnership with all stakeholders in the industry and the support of the Minister for Tourism Hon Clayton Bartolo that we can look forward to an even better 2023," MTA CEO Carlo Micallef stated.

Each year, Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2023 lists start with nominations from Lonely Planet’s vast community of staff, writers, bloggers, publishing partners and more. The nominations are then whittled down by our panel of travel experts to just 30 destinations.

Each is chosen for its topicality, unique experiences, ‘wow’ factor and its ongoing commitment to sustainability, community and diversity.

According to Lonely Planet’s Tom Hall, the release of Lonely Planet’s annual "hot list" of destinations and travel experiences comes at an exciting time to be planning travel. "2023 is shaping up to be an exciting year to get out and explore. With much of the world firmly on the road to recovery, travellers are looking for different locations and experiences."

"The lists celebrate the world in all its wonderful enticing variety," Hall continues. "Each of the itineraries in Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2023 shows how to leave the crowds behind and truly get the heart of a destination."