The trees have lost their leaves, it's raining, the rare winter sunshine has to fight through grey skies and you've well and truly got the winter blues. Life doesn't have to be dreary I've found – not when I can take winter holidays in Malta.

Good news stories and new airlines wanting to fly to Malta has resulted in 2007 being the best year for the holiday island in six years - and 2008 could get better still.

Malta has been a firm favourite for British tourists who spent some time on the island while serving in the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy or British army. But Malta is now trying to reach out to a younger market to show them the Mediterranean island is an ideal holiday destination.

Between January 2008 and October 2008, a total of 496,283 passengers arrived in Malta. The island continues to set new records each year and the number of cruise ship passengers in 2009 is expected to rise yet again.

As Europe's homeowners wait nervously to see how much their properties have devalued, Malta's real estate market could see a rise in value this year.

Holidaymakers choosing Malta rose by seven per cent in the first quarter of this year compared to last, and gives vindication to the Maltese hotels and holidays lobby who had urged the government to allow low cost airlines to fly to the island.

British newspapers have been giving conflicting advice for the price of a holiday in Malta this summer. It appears that Malta holidays are still a good deal...

On January 1 Malta, along with Cyprus, abandoned their own currencies to join the Euro. The Maltese people have flawlessly taken to the new currency - but the strength of their new currency could reverse the upturn in the Malta holidays market.

Low-cost airlines could be the underlying cause of the increase in tourism on Malta. In fact, some airlines claim to be more responsible for travel to and from the island than others. Air Malta believes they are primarily responsible for Malta's increase in tourism. In August, Ryanair reported carrying more than 40,000 passengers to or from Malta during the month of July.

Considering a holiday in Malta instead of Spain or Florida? There's good reasons to think that Malta could be just as good...