Article written by Gavin Gulia, Chairman of the Malta Tourism Authority.
It has been an eventful end of 2023 and beginning of 2024 for the Malta Tourism Authority. Sustainability has become an increased necessity to the tourism industry.
Discussions on sustainability and sustainable development have moved from peripheral discussions to occupying centre stage in 2024. One of MTA’s sustainable tourism practices is to broaden the tourism audience further and welcome new markets to the Islands. Thus, 2024 welcomed ITAKA, a major tour operator in Poland that is promising a great future to Malta and Gozo.
To encourage and consolidate the high-end tourist niche on the Islands, the MTA published the first Discovery magazine that will encourage travellers to explore luxurious experiences during their time on our islands. Lastly, the MTA announced the 2023 end of year results in observance of what has been done, and what we should continue to strive for in 2024 and beyond.
Last December, the Malta Tourism Authority held its first conference since 2006 focusing on the challenges in tourism and the subsequent progress. This event involved the incorporation of sustainable practices, and the establishment of a safer, more secure future for mankind. I anticipate that this Conference marks the beginning of an annual tradition of national tourism conferences offering a platform to meet and discuss our achievements, tackle challenges, and refine our tourism strategies.
As part of our strategy to sustain tourism success, Malta has been seeking tourism markets that are beyond those of the UK, Germany, Italy, and France. Consequently, the MTA established a collaborative agreement with the leading tour operator in the Polish market, ITAKA Poland. This partnership will actively promote and market the Maltese Islands particularly during the winter season, whilst also selling package holidays to travellers based in Poland throughout the year. This agreement will continue strengthening and evolving the encouraging numbers of the Polish market in the local tourism industry, whilst increasing the brand visibility of the Maltese Islands in further tourism markets.
Whilst we actively seek to bring tourism to the Islands, the MTA caters also for tourism that is already on Maltese shores. The Malta Tourism Authority has published the first magazine issue called, Discovery. This is a high-end travel guide that will inform the readers on landmarks to visit, activities to embark upon, and experiences that one must not miss out on. The guidebook will assist in promoting luxury niche tourism and will support MTA-licensed companies to introduce high-end experiences in the local tourism industry.
Lastly, the MTA announced the 2023 end of year tourism results last February that had been released by the National Statistics Office. We have every reason to be pleased with these results of successful recovery. We also should celebrate that, once more, Malta is considered as one of the favoured competitors in tourism.
Our work, however, does not finish here. We will continue rethinking and revitalising elements of our Tourism Strategy whilst retaining what we successfully recovered over these past years. This will be no easy feat as intense competition is always forthcoming. We are very proud of HORECA’s recognition towards MTA for contributing to the success of the hospitality industry. Our efforts are all due to the dedication we have to our country and for the exceptional cooperation we receive from our stakeholders. It is imperative that we maintain the success achieved in 2023 through hard work and constant improvement in this year and beyond. We remain committed to prioritising sustainable tourism practices at the forefront of our industry.
I would like to thank the team at the Malta Tourism Authority for their outstanding performance and resilience in the recovery post-COVID-19. We now look ahead to strive for sustainability excellence of Malta’s tourism industry.
SAĦĦA!