The Malta stand at IMEX 2009

MTA increases M.I.C.E. promotional activity

Over the last few weeks the Malta Tourism Authority’s Marketing division, locally and overseas, significantly increased promotional activity of the Maltese tourism sector’s M.I.C.E offer (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Events).

In the immediate wake of the global credit crunch, international companies and corporations that would normally organize conferences and meetings abroad, drastically curtailed their MICE expenditure.  The effects of these cutbacks were immediately felt by conference organizers and destination management companies (DMCs) in all well-established tourism destinations, including Malta and Gozo.  In an effort to strengthen overseas awareness of the local MICE offer, especially with buyers, the MTA organized a number of related initiatives in core source markets over the past few months, culminating in three events held in London, Milan and Frankfurt.

The UK event, dubbed ‘A Taste of Malta’, was held at Meza, a top restaurant in London. The evening gave MICE organisers in the UK the chance to sample some of the Mediterranean’s best cuisine as well as meet and talk to the large number of Maltese DMCs and representatives of hotels and conference venues that were present to showcase their products and services.

Malta’s presence was also highly visible at the MICE workshop and fair, held in Milan late last month, that goes by the unusual name of Shock The Monkey. Now in it’s twelfth edition, the Malta Tourism Authority was the sponsor destination of the event. This initiative gathers together some 1100 Italian MICE professionals and buyers, some 240 of which registered at the Malta stand The Malta stand for this event was the largest and most prominent among all 40 participants – some 80 sq.m. Only 2 other foreign destinations were present, Britain and Montecarlo. 11 Maltese companies participated at Shock the Monkey, all of them based on the Malta stand.

The Most recent MTA initiative in this regards was participation in the annual IMEX MICE fair held in Frankfurt at the very end of May. The Malta stand, measuring 140 sq m, included 26 Maltese co-exhibitor companies and provided guests with renowned Maltese hospitality at all hours of the day as well as a constant supply of Maltese food, wines, beers and soft drinks. German celebrity chef Rainer Mitze, who is also Malta’s culinary ambassador to the German speaking countries, was at hand every day preparing Maltese and Mediterranean delicacies. Guests to the Malta stand were also made aware of the fact that in an effort to lessen the carbon footprint that an active participation in fairs creates, the Malta Tourism Authority would be making a contribution towards the Tree4U campaign, whereby 50 trees will be planted this Autumn.

After Malta’s having won the IMEX Green Exhibitor award last year, in this year’s edition a Maltese company, AGL, also managed to win one of the fair’s prestigious awards – the IMEX Commitment To Community Award. This is no mean feat considering that over 150 countries are represented in the fair, with well over three thousand companies participating. In fact Ray Bloom, IMEX chairman, announced that this year’s edition of IMEX broke new records, with 157 countries participating, 3500 companies, as well as 5,100 unique visitors and 3,700 hosted buyers – bringing the total to nearly 9,000 participants over the three days. Notwithstanding the international economic scenario, it was widely observed that a mood of confidence dominated the IMEX fair, with the fair’s chairman stating, in his closing statement, that IMEX 2009 was: “a remarkable demonstration of the determination and desire of the international meetings industry to overcome the challenge of the global economic downturn and shape a positive and reassuringly profitable future.”

Malta’s collection of elite conference venues and hotels continues to flourish. The last decade has seen a large growth in the number of DMCs in Malta and this year, to ensure continuing quality, the Malta Tourism Authority has introduced a new quality assurance system – the Quality Seal – that guarantees service excellence and consistency for prospective MICE organisers. Quality Assured DMCs are listed on the MTA website at: http://www.visitmalta.com/destination-management-companies.