Winners of this year's STAR Awards

15 winners at the Malta Tourism Authority STAR Awards

During the prestigious STAR award ceremony, organised annually by the Malta Tourism Authority, 14 people and one visitor attraction received a STAR Award (Special Thanks And Recognition). The ceremony took place on the 26th February at the Grand Hotel Excelsior. Approximately 200 people attended this lively event which was also spiced up with dance numbers offered by YADA Dance Company. The aim of the STAR Awards is to recognise the best people and products in the tourism products.

During his opening speech, the Authority’s CEO Mr Formosa Gauci said that it is an honour for the MTA to be able to reward so many individuals and establishments year after year, whose contribution to the tourism industry undoubtedly plays an important role in creating memorable experiences for our tourists.

Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism Dr Mario de Marco added that today – more than ever – amidst the global financial and economic crisis, we all have a role to play in ensuring continued success of our tourism industry. “As we know, the human resources element is fundamental in tourism, an industry where the customer does not buy a physical product but an experience. It is therefore imperative to offer not only an efficient and professional service, but also genuine hospitality and service with a smile in order to ensure a positive and unique visitor experience.”

During the award ceremony covering 2008, all the 15 winners as well as the finalists in each category received an award. For the first 13 consumer-driven awards there were 830 different people nominated by tourists and approximately 7,500 completed nomination forms were received at our MTA office during 2008. In fact it was no mean feat making it to the finals - not only must a person be nominated by at least 10 different tourists but that person must also be one of the top three nominated in their respective category. The person with the most valid nominations received the Service STAR award.

Well over 100 tourists were randomly contacted to ensure that their nomination is valid, an exercise which resulted in a multitude of positive comments praising the STAR nominees. Tourists are continually being encouraged to nominate people they believe would have contributed in enriching their visit to Malta. In fact when a tourist nominates someone they will be participating in a lottery draw with the prize being complimentary return flights (courtesy of Air Malta) and one-week accommodation for two persons on bed & breakfast basis. The lucky tourist in the 2008 lottery was from Switzerland and nominated someone during her stay in Gozo last May.

In 2008 the MTA introduced a new award: the Hotel Worker of the Year. This prestigious award was received with much enthusiasm and aims to recognise exemplary workers within the hotel industry. It is a staff-driven award and only one person per hotel may be nominated by his/her colleagues. Not surprisingly, the nominees were honoured for being selected and, to further add value to the nomination, each nomination was endorsed by a total of five people as well as the hotel manager. All the nominations in this category were assessed by the STAR committee which is composed of representatives from MHRA, IoH, FATTA, ADT and MTA.

Awarding the STARs

The STAR Service scheme for 2009 has already begun. Tourist nominations received since January this year will automatically be included in this year’s scheme. Nomination forms are available at various points including the Tourist Information Offices in Valletta, Malta International Airport and Victoria, Gozo, hotels, restaurants, taxis, coaches and many others. Recipients of the STAR Award for 2008 will not be eligible for the 2009 awards.

The awards in the STAR Service categories are totally consumer-driven and during 2008 approximately 7,500 tourist nominations were received in recognition of outstanding service from almost 850 different individuals. From among these, up to 4 finalists were short listed for each of the 13 categories. The STAR winners in each category received a certificate, an 18ct gold lapel-pin and €800 cash prize, whereas the remaining finalists received a certificate and a cash prize of €150.

As an incentive for tourists to participate, there is a prize consisting of complimentary return flights (courtesy of Air Malta) and one-week accommodation for two persons on bed & breakfast basis. The lucky tourist for 2008 was from Switzerland and visited Gozo last May.

Through the STAR scheme the MTA also awards good quality tourism products. In 2008 the scheme awarded the Best Visitor Attraction. The selection was carried out by a team of assessors made up of people from three different entities and based on a detailed set of pre-defined criteria. The award went to Palazzo Falson, Mdina, with the prize being a certificate, a star-shaped glass trophy and €800 cash prize. The runners-up received a certificate and a cash prize of €150.

In 2008 the MTA introduced a new award: the Hotel Worker of the Year. This prestigious award aims to recognise exemplary workers within the hotel industry and is a staff-driven award whereby only one person per hotel may be nominated by his/her colleagues as well as the hotel manager. The winner of this award was selected by the STAR Committee which was composed of representatives from five different entities. The Hotel Worker of the Year for 2008 is Patrick Galea from the Radisson SAS Golden Sands Resort & Spa who received a certificate, an 18ct gold lapel-pin and €800 cash prize. The winner has also been nominated by the STAR Committee for the Premju Ħaddiem tas-Sena 2009. The runners-up received a certificate and a cash prize of €150.