While the last preparations are well underway for the tenth anniversary of the Isle of MTV Malta 2016, Minister for Tourism Edward Zammit Lewis said that this massive annual event offers the finest opportunity to promote and elevate Malta’s profile as a top tourism destination for entertainment.
The Minister for Tourism noted that this concert attracts the younger generation, and not only, from across Europe and also beyond while enjoying their stay on our islands. The Minister stated that much effort is directed towards ensuring that this event is one of the top festivals in Europe besides being one of the summer’s peak attractions within the music scene on the Maltese Islands. "Over the ten years that Isle of MTV has been held in Malta, the number of visitors to the island between the ages of 15 and 24 has more than doubled. Since 2006, the number of visitors to the island between the ages of 15 and 24 has increased by 112.3% and now account 13.8% of all tourists. Ten years ago the percentage market share of the visitors within the 15-24 age group stood at 10.3% from the total inbound visitors. 15 to 24 aged visitors increased by nearly 21% since 2012, whilst since a year ago the number increased by 3.3%."
Addressing a press conference on the Granaries in Floriana while the IOMTV stage was being constructed, Minister Zammit Lewis noted that this edition’s advertising campaign has been carefully planned, and the promotional aspect was fully exploited and maximised, thanks to the fact that the date of the event had been announced well in advance around a year ago.
A world class line up of artists will be performing on the Granaries, set on the eve of a public holiday on Tuesday 28th June, in front of a crowd of around 50,000. The free live music concert will feature the British singer-songwriter and Grammy award winner Jess Glynne, multi-platinum selling rapper Wiz Khalifa, the UK ground breaking electronic group Clean Bandit and electro-house, superstar DJ Steve Aoki who will be closing this year’s Isle of MTV Malta 10th anniversary celebrations. The Isle of MTV concert is the apex of a week-long festival of live music and entertainment which draws renowned international artists.
Dr Zammit Lewis concluded by auguring that the tenth edition of Isle of MTV will be another successful event that will be enjoyed to the full by both locals and tourists. The Isle of MTV concert has established itself on the national calendar of annual events for co-branding Malta as a tourist destination for international music enthusiasts, amongst others.
Finally, the Tourism Minister presented a letter to Floriana Mayor Davina Sammut Hili, saying that MTA is providing 20,000 euro towards a community project as a compensation for all inconveniences caused during the event.
Minister for Tourism Edward Zammit Lewis was accompanied by the CEO of the Malta Tourism Authority Paul Bugeja and Chairman of the Malta Tourism Authority Gavin Gulia together with VP Creative and Integrated Marketing Viacom Velocity Intl, Russell Samuels.
Malta Tourism Authority Chairman Gavin Gulia remarked that the Malta product has evolved and diversified over the years, and managed to attract a new clientele whilst retaining all the elements which make it attractive to its traditional visitor base. Events such as Isle of MTV can provide an extra reason for the younger segments of the travelling population to choose Malta.
Malta Tourism Authority CEO Paul Bugeja commented on the importance of events such as the Isle of MTV Malta Special and the accompanying Malta Music Week in the context of MTA’s overall marketing strategy. In its effort to diversify its source markets and target a wider audience, MTA looks at high profile events of this type to reach a younger generation of travellers by projecting an image of Malta as a dynamic and active all-year-round destination.