Malta recently hosted the third edition of the All about People Awards and Events. Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) won the right to host this annual key event organised by DBF-Events Ltd due to the efforts by MTA UK, in particular the Senior Manager for the MICE segment, Nicolas Sancho. The previous editions of these awards took place in The Netherlands and Spain. The awards are earning a good reputation with all the international stakeholders involved in the MICE business and rapidly becoming one of the top personal recognition awards to receive.
One hundred conference and incentive buyers and 50 hosts (suppliers) participated in the three-day event where participants had time to meet, present and build relationships, which was one of the main scopes of this event. In fact, the programme was developed in line with the organisers' company ethos 'that people buy into and from people and from people they know and trust'.
Some of the main highlights of this event included one-to-one meetings and destination workshops, an incentive activity named Battle of the Seas in Grand Harbour and a visit to the walled medieval city of Mdina. The 'Awards Dinner' took place at the Casino Maltese, with two awards being presented, both of which were voted for by the participants of the event itself. The Supplier of the Year Award was won by Nicolas Sancho, Senior Manager MICE UK & Ireland, on behalf of the Conventions Malta team, while the Buyer of the Year Award was won by David Kemsley, Managing Director at Avenue Events.
Paul Bugeja, MTA CEO, commented on the focus of the programme which is that of creating synergies and communication among all participants. He expressed his satisfaction at having so many MICE specialists together for the event. He emphasised the importance given to the MICE segment, stating that Conventions Malta was "a project that was announced in 2015 and which is growing extensively. The main emphasis brought about by this set up is to give recognition to the MICE Industry locally and internationally through research, planning, marketing and ensuring Quality". Conventions Malta operates on the premise 'AAA: Access All Areas', which emphasises that the whole island is in reality a venue offering a memorable experience to those planning their next C&IT event.
He thanked the other main sponsors of the event as well as the directors of DBF-Events, Delphine Benbassa-Fortuin and Michiel Fortuin and the Conventions Malta team both in the UK and at the Head office in Malta.