Around 1,200 delegates from 49 countries are currently attending a European business networking conference organised by the Junior Chamber International (JCI) in conjunction wth KPMG at the Radisson Blu in St Julians.

The event, which has taken over two years to organise, kicked off today and is expected to run until Saturday. It will include twenty five training sessions and workshops, business networking events, inspiring keynote speeches and community projects.

The delegates are expected to visit a number of top companies such as Playmobil and Shreburn.

JCI is a membership-based non-profit organisation of 200,000 young people in their 20s and 30s in 5,000 communities and more than 115 countries around the world.

People join JCI Malta to maximize their potential, be active citizens, collaborate and network, think outside the box, be contributors to decision-making processes and to be innovative.

Speaking to this portal, a JCI volunteer explained that the aim of such conferences is to exchange innovative ideas, enhance personal development, while tackling community and international aspects.

Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis, who was present during today’s launch of the conference, along with Josef Formosa Gauci, MTA’s CEO, said that he was highly satisfied oer the fact that an event of this sort has been organised in Malta since it is an opportunity where ideas are exhanged leading to innovative ones, a priority for this government.

Turning to the number of tourists who are visiting Malta during the shoulder months, he said that the government’s prerogative is to attract quality tourists during such months.

He said the month of March witnessed an increase of 11.3 per cent in tourists when compared to the same period last year.