Valletta 2018: Was

Apart from cultural infrastructural and events, the growth of cultural tourism relies on the development of a strong international cultural image. People with an interest in culture are more likely to visit destinations that are renowned for their cultural offer. Since 2000, it has been the government’s declared policy to use Malta’s unusually rich heritage to increase the number of culture tourists to Malta. The relevance therefore of Valletta 2018 (V18) to Malta’s tourism policy is significant. The event provided a golden opportunity to enhance Malta’s credentials as a culture destination.

Destination image is dependent on many factors. The mere fact of hosting ECoC has affected to some extent international perceptions of Valletta and of Malta. This was reinforced over the years by the Malta Tourism Authority with various international marketing initiatives using V18 as a focus. Malta has a reasonably strong cultural infrastructure and this was strengthened with the opening of a new purpose designed art gallery, MUZA ( Mużew Nazzjonali tal-Arti). It is a pity however, that MUZA was completed and opened to the public at the end of 2018.

Marketing and promotion is one of many factors that shape potential tourists’ perceptions of Malta. Apart from MTA’s normal budget, how much was spent on promoting Valletta 2018 (and Malta) overseas? This is an important question in the light of Malta’s international image and of government policy to promote more cultural tourism. The advertising space in Air Malta’s in-flight magazine gave an indication of V18’s commitment to international promotion. This year I flew Air Malta in March and in November, and on both occasions was dismayed to see virtually no promotion of V18 in the in-flight magazine, almost as if it was not happening. A significant number of incoming tourists use Air Malta so the in-flight magazine would have been a good way of telling them that Malta is a great cultural destination and to encourage them to attend the ECoC activities. One would have expected V18 to be jumping out of the pages but the V18 Foundation thought otherwise.

The image of Valletta 2018 was greatly tarnished because of highly controversial comments made by its Chairman. An event such as ECoC is a powerful tool for cultural diplomacy, if internal and external stakeholders are handled appropriately. The Chairman’s controversial comments on a highly sensitive subject antagonised sections of the Maltese public, including the local cultural community who called for his resignation. His controversial comments were also noted by V18’s international partners, not least because they were divisive and therefore go against the very spirit of ECoC of inclusiveness. The situation got so bad that Leeuwarden, the other 2018 ECoC, chose to boycott the Malta events, in spite of the Minister of Culture’s efforts to heal the rift. Moreover, Ulrich Fuchs, an ECoC veteran and member of the Monitoring and Advisory Panel, denounced Valletta 2018 and any related event after hearing of the comments of the V18 Chairman. He decided not to attend any event held by the Valletta 2018 “as long as people who are representing the project destroy European values“. Significantly, V18 was also boycotted by the Valletta mayor.

My own experience confirm the negative vibes that Valletta 2018 had unwittingly created. I was involved in the organisation of an international conference on historic towns. One would have expected the organisers to shout it out loud that the event is being organised in Valletta during Valletta 2018. Instead, they chose to barely mention it in their promotional material, as if they did not want their conference to be associated with V18.

Cultural vibrancy

Various comments on Valletta 2018 by several cultural operators were reported in the print media. On the plus side, the programme was diverse with as many as 400 events. Several Maltese artists had the opportunity to collaborate and gain experience on large international projects. On the minus side, the artistic programme lacked consistency, in part because there was no single artistic director or team. Prof. Vicki Ann Cremona, chair of the School of Performing Arts at the University of Malta, argued that a key element of the Bid Book was ignored namely: the concept of ‘Euro-

than 350 small businesses actively cooperated by introducing permanent info points, special openings, and thematic furnishings of shop-windows and so on. Audio-visual reportages from national and foreign televisions exceeded 2,000. There were an estimated 8,000 articles in the regional, national and international press. One hundred and forty official foreign delegations, from 30 different countries, visited Lille 2004.