Preparations underway for International Council of Nurses' Congress to be held in Malta

Through the collective efforts of all stakeholders involved, including tourism operators and several parastatal entities and NGOs, Malta can obtain results in attracting large and high profile international conferences to its shores despite the challenging times the conference sector has faced over the last year. The 3,000 strong conference to be held in Malta in May next year by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) is a perfect example of this success. These achievements send a message of confidence to the local tourism industry that collective action does obtain results.

The Hon. Mario de Marco, Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, said this when he met a delegation which is currently in Malta to kick off the preparations for the ICN’s bi-annual International Congress to be held in Malta in May 2011 and which is expected to host around 3,000 delegates from all over the world.

The delegation was accompanied by representatives from the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) which secured the bid for the holding of this Congress.

Dr de Marco praised the efforts by the MUMN, the Ministry for Health, and all those involved to secure the bid to hold this Congress in Malta. He referred to the fact that the Meetings and Conferences (MICE) segment is crucial for Malta’s tourism industry in the shoulder months as it helps in securing activity in those months of the year where it is most needed.

He concluded by stating that Government has been supporting the MICE sector not only through segment specific marketing and advertising, but also through the creation of a fund throughout 2009 and 2010, which is assisting government and parastatal entities to attract international meetings in Malta. This assistance includes financial back up based on number of participants as well as technical and logistical support for both the bidding process as well as for the organisation of the conference itself.