Saying it through events

Only last Tuesday, it was my pleasure to chair a press conference launching another major event for Malta. On July 15, our country will join the circle of fashion cities around the world where the Maltese and visitors alike will be able to admire what the most prestigious designers have to offer.

Through the assistance of the Malta Tourism Authority, Renaissance Productions Limited were able to reach an agreement with the Italian fashion channel TV Moda for the organisation of a high profile fashion show event in Malta with the participation of Italy's best designer houses.

The agreement entails the recruitment of TV Moda as the artistic and technical producers of the fashion show incorporating the provision of all relevant services associated with the organisation of the event and thereafter to screen the show on their TV channel.

The fashion show will be presented by the popular presenter Jo Squillo who was present for the launch of the Malta International Fashion Show. She described our country as a gem that needs to be discovered by many more people, not least in Italy that is so close to us and from where we should be attracting more tourists.

TV Moda will record and screen the 120-minute Malta International Fashion Show on their 24-hour-a-day satellite fashion channel that is beamed all over the world. TV Moda will also produce and screen a special 60-minute feature about Malta as a tourist destination well worth visiting. During the final weeks prior to the event TV Moda will screen 500 promotional spots featuring Malta, and even in advance of all that, some promotional spots should start to be featured as of this weekend.

Excerpts from the fashion show will also be transmitted on Mediaset's Rete 4, while the Italian production house Futura has been engaged by Renaissance Productions to provide experts on the fashion programmes of RAI 1, Sky TV and La 7.

These high-profile events not only offer our own people the opportunity to participate in stylish productions with the most prominent personalities in the entertainment industry, but also contribute towards our tourism industry and its effective promotion.

This event is being held at Manoel Island, one of Malta's prime heritage sites which is being rehabilitated and restored by the MIDI consortium as part of the agreement reached with Government in connection with the Manoel Island/Tigné Point project. These rehabilitated and restored heritage sites are serving as venues for international events which are leaving their mark on Malta's promotion as a tourism location. Manoel Island has the added advantage of offering Valletta as a backdrop to the event.

Besides Manoel Island, the producers of this event identified various other localities in Malta and Gozo as potentially ideal sites for the organisation of this fashion show.

I am a firm believer that as the competition in tourism keeps getting tougher, it is crucial for us to be keep our product in shape and appealing. Saying it through events is one way of doing just that and it is no coincidence that Malta is becoming the venue for various major events that not only attract thousands of our own to go over and enjoy the evening, but also act as magnets that attract more tourists to Malta.

Just this weekend two more prestigious events are taking place in Malta. Last night, the popular Italian singer Amadeo Minghi entertained the crowd at the Valletta Waterfront. Minghi was accompanied by his own band, and the event was organised by M&E Management Group.

My ministry was again only too pleased to be associated with this event. Himself the lyricist behind the success of other singers, Minghi has produced no fewer than 23 albums in Italian and three more in other languages. He remains known for L'Immenso, of which he has given different versions all over the world.

Moreover, over the past two days as well as today, thousands are following with awe the Powerboat P1 World Championship event that is happening in Malta with the participation of some of the best names that participate in this water sport, apart from our own Aaron and Audrien Ciantar who are taking part with Malta's powerboat produced by their father Charlie.

The sheer atmosphere that has been created at the Valletta Waterfront for this event places Malta in the league of luxury destinations such as Nice or Cannes, and proves that we have not sat on our laurels but sought to upgrade our product and provide for new happenings that appeal to young people. In that way our product remains fresh and innovative. We have already reached the point where there are events to look forward to throughout the whole year.

Most people travelling do not only want to discover one more destination, but want to have events to look forward to. People are travelling to go through an experience that they can cherish.

Malta has the necessary ingredients to provide for a truly unique experience. Organising prestigious and popular events adds to our lure and provides us with additional platforms through which Malta can gain through the additional publicity generated.

Malta's Grand Prix is transmitted in 70 countries and has an estimated viewership of about 200 million. Journalists from such papers as Gazzetta dello Sport, Daily Express and The Guardian are covering the event, helping Malta reach out to countless potential visitors who may well be hearing of us for the first time or who in any case might decide to come over after seeing what Malta has to offer by watching their favourite sport on TV taking place right here.

The fact that the event takes place against the backdrop of our unique Grand Harbour makes the experience a truly unique one, as the participants from different countries are only too happy to point out to us.

The Ministry of Tourism and Culture has provided the necessary support towards the Grand Prix precisely because we appreciate the value added that an event of this nature can offer as a marketing tool. An agreement to cover the holding of the event in Malta this year as well as in the coming two years was reached and was signed at the World Travel Market held in London last November.

Add on, for good measure, the annual fireworks' festival that has as of this year assumed the dimensions of an international competition - held annually to celebrate the anniversary of Malta's joining the European Union.

Factor in as well the annual Historic Cities Festival that reaches its climax through a magnificent military tattoo that is organised every October.

Two more events worth looking out for and which have had the full support of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture include the concert that will be given by the English popular singer Sting on June 6, as well as the Malta Jazz Festival that will be held on July 21, 22 and 23.

In the coming weeks, we also intend to launch this year's summer festival, organised by the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts within the Ministry. The festival will take place on the ruins of the Old Opera House and will comprise various art genres, including pure jazz, to create one more magnet that equally draws to it Maltese persons and tourists who would be among us.

Making tourism work requires continuous initiatives and at different levels. Combining tourism and culture within one portfolio is one of the tools that we are employing to the utmost and one way of doing that is saying it through events.

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