Within the diversified portfolio of Malta’s leisure and business travel offer, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and events) is perhaps one of the most important streams of visitor inflows into the country, Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism Mario de Marco said.

He was speaking at an event which, he said, forms part of ongoing efforts to brief the Maltese trade on developments taking place in the fast changing world of tourism. Two German speakers also spoke about the latest trends and developments taking place in the German Meetings Industry Market.

MICE “attracts what is undoubtedly the most lucrative of our visitor inflows. Generally speaking, the average MICE visitor to Malta stays for one third of the average tourist length of stay, but spends as much money as a tourist who stays three times as long,” he said.

“The accommodation profile of the MICE segment is also very high end, with 80 per cent of MICE visitors to our destination utilising five-star hotels, with the balance staying in four-star hotels.”

The MICE segment is also seasonal: the vast majority of MICE activity in Malta takes place during the off-peak spring and autumn months. “MICE business also sustains the schedule air services operated by our national airline Air Malta and other carriers and helps ensure good financial returns for routes from major cities which importantly link Malta with Europe’s commercial capitals and beyond.”

Germany is one of Malta’s major source markets for MICE business. Last year, Germany is estimated to have generated 5,000 MICE delegates to Malta, equivalent to nine per cent of total MICE traffic during the year. In terms of ranking, Germany stands as the number three source market for MICE business to these islands, Dr de Marco said.