Airline sponsors travel journalism award

Emirates, the Dubai-based international airline, will sponsor a new category of travel journalism in this year's Malta Journalism Awards, organised by the Institute of Maltese Journalists (IGM).

Apart from a trophy and Lm150 in prize money, the winner of this category will be offered two Emirates return business tickets to Dubai and three nights in a five-star hotel.

The Emirates initiative follows a substantial increase in travel coverage by the Maltese media and brings to eight the number of categories in this 14th edition of Malta's national journalistic competition. The awards finalists will be announced in September and the presentations to winners will take place in November.

IGM chairman Malcolm J. Naudi said: "Travel journalism in Malta is an important source of information and education both for leisure and business travellers. The IGM recognises the growing importance of this branch of journalism and has decided to support it by creating a dedicated travel category among our annual journalism awards.

"We are delighted that Emirates, one of the world's most innovative airlines as well as one of the great business success stories of our time, has stepped forward to sponsor this new award and help it to become reality."

Emirates has been offering direct flights from Malta to Dubai for the last six years. It flies three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays using an Airbus A330-200.

Paul Fleri Soler, Emirates' Malta district manager said Dubai has become one of the Maltese travellers' favourite destinations. "Just in the first two months of this year, nearly 900 Maltese passengers flew there for the Dubai Shopping Festival. Also, for an increasing number of Maltese, Dubai is becoming the favourite hub for destinations in the Indian sub-continent, Australasia and the Far East.

"The dedication of the Institute of Maltese Journalists to the continuous improvement in the standards of our national media is a worthy cause. Emirates is happy to support it and to make a contribution towards the highest possible quality in travel coverage by the Maltese media..."

The travel journalism category is open to all journalists, irrespective of their membership in the IGM, as long as their work was published in print, broadcast or web media during 2003. Submissions for this year's awards will be received on June 24 and 25 from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. at the IGM Offices in Old Mint Street, Valletta.

Further information about the Malta Journalism Awards may be obtained from the institute by sending a letter to P.O. Box 21, Marsa GPO 01, by calling 2131 6958 or from the website www.maltapressclub.org.mt