Margaret Nicholson has booked her getaways through Neal and the Hays team for the past six to eight years, and after having a trip cancelled last year due to the pandemic, she "couldn’t wait" to get back to the country she and her partner fell in love with.

"Once they got to the Victoria Hotel [in Sliema], they loved it and they loved the people there," Neal said. "I think a lot of the people they met originally are still there.

"They just found they don’t really want to go anywhere else, which is why they have repeated the trip three times a year for the last however many years. I mean if it’s not broke, don’t fix it!"

Nicholson, who only returned from the green-listed hot spot a few weeks ago, has booked to go again in October, as well as May and July next year.

Neal has booked around 20 of Nicholson’s trips to Malta, and now knows exactly what she is looking for when she rings to book again.

"When she calls, she doesn’t have to tell me what she needs. She just tells me the dates, we know everything else that she wants, and we make sure the price is the best for her," Neal added.

"It shows the confidence she has with the store; she knows she will get a good service so she just keeps coming back."

According to Neal, the store "thrives" on repeat business, and without it "a lot of businesses would struggle".

"Having repeat business like that is instrumental to making sure we get back to where we need to be," he added.

"I think the confidence in general is coming back. We’re seeing a steady increase in confidence with people travelling, whilst we continue to assist customers with testing and travel information at the same time."