The Malta Tourism Authority launched the Conventions Malta brand in Italy during a press conference held in Milan on 29 March. Conventions Malta is a project that has been growing extensively with an emphasis on "research, planning, marketing and ensuring quality", says Paul Bugeja CEO, MTA.
The launch concept was initiated by Ester Tamasi and Claude Zammit Trevisan through their work at the MTA Italy Office in close collaboration with the Conventions Malta team at Head Office in Malta. The event brought a number of MICE journalists and publication houses under the roof of Hub Gattinoni. Hosted by Mr Bugeja and Edward Zammit, Event Operations advisor, Conventions Malta, the event was chaired by the Italian moderator, Roberto Rasia.
Mr Bugeja opened the press conference by providing an overview of the excellent results obtained in terms of tourism in 2016. He pointed out that Italy has maintained a constant growth year on year with an increase of 11.5% for inbound travel from Italy last year. The increase in tourist numbers from the country can be mainly attributed to the increase in number of terminals servicing MIA; as of 2005 this has increased from four to 14 hubs over a span of 11 years. In terms of business travel, Italy retained its position in first rank as the country of origin generating the largest number of business travellers to Malta with a share of almost 25%, followed by the UK and Scandinavia respectively.
Mr Zammit was next to address the press conference. He gave details of the journey that brought Conventions Malta from its inception to its current position. His speech centred round the Conventions Malta tagline AAA: Access All Areas, which emphasises on the notion that the whole island is in reality a venue offering an unvarying memorable experience to those planning their next C&IT event.
Next in line was Mr Zammit Trevisan, director, MTA Italy who explained in detail the projects and plans that took place so far and which are planned for the future for the Italian market. During his speech, he also thanked Ms Tamasi, Marketing manager MTA Italy who is responsible for MICE and other niche markets in the MTA overseas office in Rome.
Mr Rasia intervened on his part by involving the audience and engaging the journalists to reflect on the Conventions Malta logo. Through well thought questions and a precise execution, the concept and idea of the logo and its creation came to life. Following this discussion, the Conventions Malta Destination video was shown.
A Gala Dinner event took place later on in the evening for a group of distinguished guests and local trade who participated in the MTA MICE Roadshows held from 2014-2016. Other initiatives related to the Conventions Malta activity in Italy include the announcement of a dedicated blog www.maltameeting.it targeted at the Italian market and activation of the Italian version of Conventions Malta official webpage www.conventionsmalta.com. The main objective of such developments is to facilitate communication even more between the Maltese and Italian MICE operators continuing to strengthen the close relationships which the island has with Italy.