Malta’s tourism product is to be advertised in over 1,000 television commercials in the United Kingdom alone next month, as part of the Malta Tourism Authority’s aggressive overseas marketing plan for 2008- 2010.

The television campaign will run until May 2008 and the advertisements are to appear at prime time with the objective of reaching the widest possible audience on channels including ITV1, Channel 4, UK Living and the Sky Group.

Looking to improve upon this year’s success in the tourism industry, which has had the best year in six, the MTA’s overseas marketing division is to redouble its efforts over the coming year.

Outlining the MTA’s overseas marketing plans at this week’s Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association annual general meeting, MTA international marketing director Joe Galea stressed that volume and value growth is not, however, limited to specific markets but rather the result of across the board efforts.

As such, while the campaign will provide a distinct focus on Malta’s core markets of the UK and Germany, it will also be starting off new integrated marketing campaigns in countries such as Italy, France, Holland Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Russia and Scandinavia.

Among its marketing objectives for 2008-2010, the plan concentrates on both core and secondary markets, and is also being closely linked to the availability of direct air links between source markets. As such, part of the overall marketing plan will also include support for new airline routes.

In addition to television, the MTA will also be focusing on electronic media, where the Internet has provided an unexpected boon for the industry this year as tourists moved away from the traditional tour operator business towards booking their holidays online.

Through games and films, the MTA will also use virtual marketing – raising brand awareness through existing social networks, a growing trend in the e-world – over 2008 to capitalise on the several millions of potential tourists on-line.

Television and Internet advertising will be coupled with a similarly strong presence in the print media, outdoor advertising, public transport and radio.

Another campaign is to be launched in Germany this month, which will have a strong on-line element, target regional airports and top end magazines, while the possibility of further television campaigns in the country is still to be decided and depends largely on budget availability.

The MTA will also continue capitalising on events held in and linked to Malta, as it did this year through a number of film and television shoots and concerts.

One opportunity identified for this year is the link up to the pending launch of a Swatch watch in Italy featuring the Corto Maltese character.

Although Malta’s tour operator business declined significantly this year, the MTA is looking to protect the traditional area of tourism generation. Its tour operator support budget, however, is to be stringently controlled and pegged directly to incoming tourist numbers.

The MTA is also building a profile database of potential tourists, who will be sent targeted information and special offers.

The database already holds some 25,000 records, which is expected to increase exponentially over the coming months.