FEB/MAR 2010issue 24

• 16 winners at the MTA’s tourism Star Awards

  During the fifth edition of the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) STAR Awards, held on the 24th February at the Hotel Phoenicia, 14 employees were awarded for excellence in service and hospitality, while a further two awards were given for the Best Visitor Attraction and the Hotel Worker of the Year.

  More at: pr51.

• Malta to host ABTA's Travel Convention

  The Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, the Environment and Culture, the Hon. Mario de Marco welcomed the announcement today by ABTA – The Travel Association of the UK which confirms Malta as the chosen venue for its 2010 ‘Travel Convention’ that will take place from Monday 18th to Wednesday 20th October 2010. The Convention will welcome around 800 UK high-profile travel operators as well as around 50 journalists to our shores, and is the leading convention of the Travel Trade in the UK. This is the first time that the Convention will be held outside the UK or Spain for the last 20 years.

  More at: pr52.

• Foreign and local publications

  

  More at: pr1.

• New Chairman for the Malta Tourism Authority

  Mr Louis Farrugia was appointed Chairman of the Malta Tourism Authority with effect from 1st January 2010. Mr Farrugia took over from Mr Sam Mifsud, whose term of office expired on 31st December 2009.

  More at: pr7.

• New Events Calendar 2010 launched

  The MTA has just launched a 32 page Events Calendar Highlights publication, including the main events that are to be held in Malta and Gozo from January 2010 – January 2011, (events that have thus far been announced at the time of going to print). In an effort to further promote the islands’ events calendar abroad, as an important component of our product offer, the MTA will be distributing these booklets in overseas trade fairs and through its overseas network.

  More at: pr36.

• MTA Germany boosts diving promotion for 2010 - Launch of state-of-the-art iPhone application

  The Malta Tourism Authority’s office in Germany will put even more effort into the promotion of Malta, Gozo and Comino as amazing diving destinations for German divers. For this purpose, MTA Germany has joined forces with taucher.net – Europe’s leading scuba diving portal targeted to the German speaking scuba market.

  More at: pr40.

• Malta is United by award shortlist

  Sheffield United’s groundbreaking partnership with the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) has been recognised by a leading authority in sponsorship. The visitMALTA.com sponsorship has been shortlisted for the prestigious 2010 Hollis Sponsorship Awards, on 9th March.

  More at: pr50.

• Isle of MTV Malta Special 2010 – date confirmed

  MTV today confirmed the 2010 date for its hit summer concert, the 'Isle of MTV Malta Special' for Wednesday,the 30th of June. The free open air concert will take place in the spectacular Fosos Square in Floriana (image attached) on the beautiful island of Malta, with an estimated audience of 50,000 people.

  More at: pr35.

Other news stories this month:

• Malta Tourism Authority signs deals with Thomas Cook and Saga

  The Malta Tourism Authority has signed two long-term, marketing support agreements with British tour operators Thomas Cook and Saga Holidays, aimed at increasing tourist flows from the UK. These agreements encompass all facets of the companies marketing opportunities, ranging from joint TV & print advertising to online activity and high street exposure. By means of these, the Malta Tourism Authority is moving away from season-by-season agreements that focus on the short term, in favour of longer-term plans that place significant emphasis on incremental business.

  More at: pr28.

• Official homeporting agreement signed between TUI Cruises and VISET Malta plc

  TUI Cruises and VISET Malta plc today signed a formal agreement confirming that in the 2011 season Valletta, Malta is to be Mein Schiff’s Mediterranean port of departure.

  More at: pr29.

• Infrastructure for Accessible Tourism is needed to address demand in shoulder months

  The Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, the Environment and Culture, the Hon. Mario de Marco said that in today’s world where freedom of movement has been facilitated and where barriers have been removed, particularly between European Union countries, nonetheless there still exist a number of factors which impede certain segments of society from travelling. Many travellers with different needs have to be reassured that their travel experience will be facilitated and not hampered resulting in stress and a lack of comfort.

  More at: pr49.

• MTA sponsors popular Maltese jockey Charles Degiorgio

  On Sunday 24th January it was announced that the Malta Tourism Authority will be helping Maltese professional horse trainer and driver Charles Degiorgio. In 2009, Degiorgio established himself as one of the leading trainers and drivers in Sweden and was also awarded ‘Best Driver’ of the Mantorp Racetrack in Sweden. Apart from this, one of the horses trained by Degiorgio, Rolls Royce was chosen as the most aspiring horse in Sweden for 2009. In 2009, horses trained or driven by Charles Degiorgio took part in 378 races, winning 51 races, ending second 35 times and third 32 times.

  More at: pr44.

• EasyJet links to Rome, Liverpool and Ryanair connecting Bournemouth

  EasyJet, the low-cost airline, will introduce two new routes next year: Fiumicino (Rome) – Malta and Liverpool – Malta. Ryanair will start flying from Malta to Bournemouth in the south of England, twice weekly, as from next March 30.

  More at: pr23.

• FC Birmingham in Malta for Training Camp

  Premier League Club, Birmingham FC recently travelled to Malta for a training camp. The camp which took place between the 18th and 21st of January, was hailed by the club as a welcome break from training in the snow and sleet in the UK, especially since at that point in time the weather in Malta was particularly mild.

  More at: pr43.

• Hungarian giants Ferencváros back in Malta

  Hungarian Football Club Ferencváros returned to Malta for a two week training camp between 22nd January and 5th February 2010. The intense training programme provided Ferencváros’ newly appointed manager Craig Short with the perfect opportunity to stamp his own style and tactics onto the team.

  More at: pr41.

• The importance of quality and standards in the catering sector

  While addressing an MHRA seminar for the catering trade held at the Corinthia Palace Hotel on February 9th, the Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, the Hon. Mario de Marco said that the importance of standards in the catering trade is crucial as it depicts the need for ongoing development and striving harder to achieve better results in a sector which has seen the number of catering outlets double over the period of 20 years – from 636 in 1990, to the current 1,256.

  More at: pr39.

• 22 Destination Management Companies obtain the Quality Assured seal

  During an award ceremony held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, 4 more Destination Management Companies (DMCs), businesses that specialise in organising meetings, incentives, conferences and events, were awarded the Malta Tourism Authority’s Quality Assured seal by the Parliamentary Secretary, the Hon. Mario de Marco and the MTA’s CEO Mr Josef Formosa Gauci. This brings the total number of Quality Assured DMCs to 22, equivalent to 34% of local DMCs.

  More at: pr33.

• MTA Italy launches Travel Agent booking incentives

  The Malta Tourism Authority’s Italian office has this week announced a booking incentive which is being made available to all Italian Travel Agents.The incentive consists of a voucher, which is redeemable at all bookstores of the national chain ‘La Feltrinelli’.

  More at: pr45.

• €2 million available for local councils to improve their tourism product

  The Hon. Mario de Marco, Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism and the Hon. Chris Said, Parliamentary Secretary for Public Dialogue and Information, announce details of a Call for Projects specifically for Local Councils for product development initiatives within village cores which will be part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

  More at: pr24.

• Get Trained for Tourism – Launch of Choice Programme

  The Industry Human Resource Development Unit (IHRD) within the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) is launching the CHOICE programme for the ninth consecutive year. Choice is designed to give information and expose secondary students to careers in the tourism industry, showing that the tourism industry can be a source of gainful and rewarding employment. The overview presented helps students formulate a knowledgeable opinion about the industry. This year a more visually attractive brochure was designed with the main message being PEOPLE.

  More at: pr21.

• Malta Features in the travels of the Royal Clipper

  Last July, a crew of four from Belgium sailed to Malta on the Royal Clipper and shot footage for a Flemish TV station. The Royal Clipper Clipper has five masts with up to 42 sails, creating a total sail area of 54,000 sq. ft. The 5,051 ft tall ship accommodates 228 lucky passengers.

  More at: pr46.

• Valletta Grand Prix Historic & Classic Car event launched at press conference

  The Hon. Mario de Marco, Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, and the Hon. Clyde Puli, Parliamentary Secretary for Youth and Sport, launch this year's edition of the `Valletta Grand Prix` Historic and Classic Car Event organised by the Valletta Grand Prix Foundation with the collaboration of the Malta Tourism Authority and the National Sports Council.

  More at: pr38.

• Italian winner for ‘Eyes on Malta’ video competition

  The Malta Tourism Authority announced the results of the ‘Eyes on Malta’ video competition organised on its website visitmalta.com and Youtube during 2009.

  More at: pr42.

• Preparations underway for International Council of Nurses' Congress to be held in Malta

  Through the collective efforts of all stakeholders involved, including tourism operators and several parastatal entities and NGOs, Malta can obtain results in attracting large and high profile international conferences to its shores despite the challenging times the conference sector has faced over the last year. The 3,000 strong conference to be held in Malta in May next year by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) is a perfect example of this success. These achievements send a message of confidence to the local tourism industry that collective action does obtain results.

  More at: pr32.

• EDEN IV

  For the fourth consecutive year the Malta Tourism Authority is participating in the European Destinations of Excellence (EDEN) project. The pilot project was initiated by the European Commission in 2006 with the aim to promote sustainable tourism development models across the European Union.

  More at: pr31.

• Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism meets UNWTO Secretary-general

  The prospects of recovery in the world tourism industry was one of the themes discussed by the Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, the Hon. Mario de Marco during a meeting with the Secretary-General of the United Nations’ World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), H.E. Dr Taleb Rifai at the Organisation’s Headquarters in Madrid, Spain. H.E. Rifai was appointed Secretary-General to the UNWTO in December 2009.

  More at: pr27.