MTA holds National Tourism Conference: Embracing pathways to sustainability
The Malta Tourism Authority held its first National Tourism Conference since 2006, aligning with the Malta Tourism Strategy 2021-2030. The conference, which aims to become an annual fixture, was themed Embracing pathways to sustainability. The conference focused on aligning with the government's objectives and policy direction, as well as the Malta Tourism Strategy's commitment to rethink the future development of tourism in Malta.
The conference was divided into three distinct components with the first featuring keynote speeches by the Prime Minister Robert Abela, Minister for Tourism Clayton Bartolo, MTA CEO Carlo Micallef and MTA Deputy CEO Leslie Vella. CEO Micallef highlighted the 2023 results and 2024 prospects, while Deputy CEO Vella discussed the Malta Tourism Observatory's work in executing the strategy, particularly focusing on sustainability indicators.
The second component of the conference featured four panel discussions, covering key topics such as Connectivity & Airlines, Climate Change and Sustainability, Tourism Product Redefined and Futureproofing Tourism. Panels included industry experts, moderated by prominent figures.
The final part of the conference featured the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the MTA and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), followed by an interactive session on Future tourism scenarios and their impacts on Malta’s tourism strategy moderated by Professor Ian Yeoman. MTA chairman Gavin Gulia concluded the conference with a speech.
Renowned presenter Keith Demicoli moderated and presented the entire conference, which was livestreamed and recorded for wider accessibility. The conference also served as an opportunity for the distribution of the first edition of the annual publication, Malta Tourism Insights. It featured contributions from various authors covering the conference's key topics.
Gulia stated that "this conference marked a pivotal moment for Malta's tourism industry, bringing together key stakeholders to address sustainability and future-proofing strategies".
Micallef commented that the conference was a significant step towards achieving a robust and sustainable tourism sector in Malta as the objective of tourism industry recovery has been reached and surpassed earlier than expected while Malta’s tourism industry gears itself to rethink and revitalise with sustainability, central in MTA’s plans for the future.
Vella added that the conference was the first large-scale public event organised by the Malta Tourism Observatory with the objective of ensuring a wider level of stakeholder engagement based on the availability of a wider source of tourism and sustainability indicators being formulated by the Observatory.