L-R: Joseph Galea, Dr. Mario de Marco, Thaddeus Hanscom, Juergen Seiler, Josef Formosa Gauci

MTA receives prestigious Expedia award

During a short presentation at the ITB (Internationale Tourismus Boerse) fair in Berlin in March, the Malta Tourism Authority was presented with the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award by the world’s foremost online travel booking company, Expedia. The MVP Award was given to the MTA in recognition of the Authority’s leadership in online destination marketing.

The award was presented to the Maltese Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism Dr. Mario de Marco, on behalf of the MTA, by Mr. Thaddeus Hanscom, Expedia’s Senior Director, Europe, Middle East and Africa. During the presentation event Mr Hanscom stated that “ other Mediterranean destinations are struggling to catch up with Malta in utilizing the internet as a means of selling holidays and not only as a source of information.” Malta was originally hailed as an ‘E-pioneer’ by Expedia. Dr de Marco thanked Expedia for the award and, whilst agreeing that the future in tourism marketing was definitely E-oriented, was pleased to note that the MTA’s forward-looking strategy in this regard was being acknowledged by major international players such as Expedia.

Also present for the award presentation were Mr Juergen Seiler, Expedia’s International Marketing Director, Mr Sam Mifsud, Chairman of the MTA, Josef Formosa Gauci, the MTA’s CEO and MTA director, overseas marketing, Joseph Galea