Over the years, Amitex has become a forum for the exchange of ideas between professionals involved in the travel and tourism business. Local travel agents and tour operators, together with foreign service providers, meet to discuss past results and plan future activities. Within a few months of these “discussions”, new exciting programmes are launched on the market. The strength of these discussions lies also in the fact that all participants in Amitex have the public right on their doorstep, asking questions, putting forward suggestions, dreaming of new destinations.
This year’s edition will see the participation of 37 foreign service providers from Scandinavia, Egypt, Spain, Cyprus, England and Tunisia to name but a few. As always, there will be a strong presence of Maltese travel agents and tour operators with around 40 exhibitors confirming their presence.
Place of honour on Air Malta’s stand at Amitex will be reserved for the airline’s latest service – low cost flights between Malta and London, Stansted. Being sold under the brand of Fare4U, prices for flights start from an incredibly low Lm23 (excluding taxes). The public’s response has been so strong that flights till June are already 75 per cent full while a number of peak flights in July and August are completely booked.
Flying Air Malta has never been so rewarding, more so if you are a member of the Air Malta Flypass frequent flier programme. Flypass has grown from strength to strength and members now number over 28,000. The programme is based on three membership levels – Temporary, Permanent and Diamond – with each level having its own portfolio of exclusive benefits to make your travel with Air Malta easier, more comfortable and more rewarding.
Since launching Flypass services on line late last year, no fewer than 4,500 members have registered through the Air Malta website (www.airmalta.com), which also provides a host of other interesting information about the airline.
Notwithstanding the success registered by Flypass, constant improvements to the programme are being carried out. This summer two new partners – The Westin Dragonara Resort in Malta and OneVoice, a leading local VOIP service provider – have been added to the growing list of partners in the programme. Through these new agreements, members can not only earn KMiles but also redeem their KMiles into telephone cards, dining vouchers and hotel stays.
Amitex is the ideal venue for frequent fliers who have not yet enrolled in Flypass to do so or to obtain information about the programme. With their usual attention to detail, Flypass staff will be present on the Air Malta stand for the duration of the exhibition to provide all the assistance that may be required.
A number of activities have been planned during the four days of Amitex. Top of the list is the third edition of the Malta International Folk Art Festival, which will bring together folk groups from eight different countries in the Amitex Activities Hall.
Folklore groups from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Turkey, Latvia, Romania, Lithuania and Hungary will compete with performances of traditional songs and dances from their respective countries. As in previous years, each of the folklore groups will be dressed in colourful costumes particular to their country or region.
The festival will be held in collaboration with the International Organisation of Folk Art, which seeks to promote, develop and conserve cultural heritage, traditional art, clothing, music, food as well as literature.
The Malta International Folk Art Festival kicks off on Thursday night with the opening ceremony, which will be followed immediately by the start of the competition. Performances will be held on each evening right through till Sunday night when the final performances and prize giving ceremony will take place. The groups will be judged on their costumes, dancing and music.
Other activities and well-known artistes should also prove to be great crowd pullers. The winners of this year’s Malta Song for Europe Festival, Julie and Ludwig, will provide further entertainment on Thursday night.
In addition, Captain Kozmo, the Young Aviator club mascot, will be present in the family area, checking up on his young members, and who together with animators, Walt Disney characters and a magician, will help to add further colour to the day.
The curtain on Amitex 2004 will fall on Sunday night with the Carlsberg Grand Finale sponsored by Farsons.
Amitex 2004 is undoubtedly the place to be in April – come and see for yourself.