Malta to host tourism, local councils congresses

Malta will be holding the European Tourism Forum and the Local Councils Town Twinning international conference later this year.

Tourism Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco said the forum was an annual event organised by the EU where important tourism sector representatives gathered to discuss issues of interest on a European and international scale.

This is the second time the forum is being held in Malta; it was first held here in 2005.

A variety of activities, focusing on the benefits tourism brings locally, nationally and Europe-wide, will be held in conjunction with the forum. Activities start on November 16 and continue until November 19. Some 800 participants are expected to take part.

Dr de Marco said the activities would be held in both Malta and Gozo.

The forum itself will take place in Mellieħa, which won the prize for European Destination of Excellence (Eden) last year.

From mid-2009 to mid-2011, about 24 conferences, involving over 10,000 participants, would have been held in Malta thanks to support schemes from the public sector.

On town twinning, Public Dialogue Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said announced that the International Town Twinning Conference would be held on November 16 and 17.

Representatives from foreign localities twinned with Maltese ones will be present.

There are about 90 town twinning agreements between foreign and Maltese councils.

Dr Said emphasised that every locality had something to offer to tourists visiting Malta and Gozo.

The conference would allow for practical discussion and innovative ideas about how each locality could expose its best side.