VALLETTA, Malta – Over 1,000 delegates from 16 countries are expected to attend the Mediterranean Tourism Forum, the second organized by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association.
A few years ago, the association decided to add a Mediterranean focus to its conference – realising that the region did not get much emphasis in international forums. The first edition was held last year and this year’s will build on its success, eventually building it up to include different forums – for example, one for MEPs, which is being coordinated by local MEPs Roberta Metsola and Miriam Dalli.
“The MHRA is not an event organiser but a lobby group,” CEO Andrew Agius Muscat explained. “And the best way to form alliances is to get together world-leading experts to explain what opportunities and challenges they are facing and how they tackled them.
This approach explains why the array of speakers is so extensive, with expertise covering various aspects of tourism, from politics to operations, and from high tech apps to cultural organisations.
“A third of all tourists visit the countries that border the Mediterranean. And increasingly, the growth in tourism is coming from the BRIC countries. We need to understand the implications of long-distance travellers. They take longer stays and they was to visit more than one country – so there is considerable scope for collaboration.
“Another important point is that tourists nowadays do not want to visit a place but to experience it. This is why the theme this year is The Great Story. Let’s face it, where else can you get as many stories as in the Mediterranean?”
The intention is to come up with a 25-point action plan by 2016, which could be presented to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat as a template for tourism initiatives prior to Malta taking up the EU presidency in 2017.
“A proactive approach will ensure that Malta establishes itself as a regional leader representing not only EU member states for also non-members,” he said.
Indeed, the list of countries attending is growing and Mr Agius Muscat hopes that other countries from the Mediterranean rim – like Morocco, Monaco, Israel and Libya – will join the alliance.
The Mediterranean Tourism Forum is being held at the Hilton on November 21 from 9am to 2pm.
