British media uninformed about Malta, survey finds
Island to have a new corporate image
The perception that the Brits know a lot about Malta has been proven wrong after a poll found that the British media are uninformed about the island.
London-based polling company IPSOS-MORI surveyed news editors of UK dailies, specialist magazines, television and radio stations about their perceptions of Malta.
"The British media is nearly as uninformed about Malta as the British public," former Tourism Minister Michael Refalo, who commissioned the survey, found.
Dr Refalo said this called for "urgent remedial action" to project a clear, defined image of Malta and what the country stood for and offered.
He said during a press conference yesterday that since the survey results did not feature any negative perceptions of Malta, it was possible to build from the scratch.
Following the survey, Dr Refalo commissioned London-based destination specialists The Communications Group to prepare a strategy for a new corporate image for Malta, which incorporates all facets of the island.
The proposed strategy - Creating the Malta Story - was unveiled to 18 local organisations that came together to develop the single corporate identity, but was kept under wraps during a press conference.
"We cannot go into details because we are still waiting for feedback," Mr Refalo said. The organisations include Air Malta, the Federation of Estate Agents, the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, the Federation of Estate Agents, the Gozo Business Chamber, Malta Enterprise, SmartCity Malta, Viset, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, the Malta International Airport and Malta Transport.
According to The Communication Group chairman Maureen Sutherland Smith, Malta has a lot of assets which have not yet been conveyed to the world.
Ms Sutherland Smith said the aim was not to duplicate what other entities, like the Malta Transport Authority, Malta Enterprise and the Malta Financial Services Authority, were already doing to promote Malta.
"We are creating the Malta story, bringing all the elements of the island together," she said, adding that the aim was to ensure that foreigners looked at Malta as a place where they could have a good quality of life.
Yesterday, the organisation suggested setting up a group responsible for delivering "the Malta story" to people around the world. Another suggestion presented to the 18 private and public organisations is to set up an internet portal which would give all the information about the island.
Project leader Emma Johnson said with the world emerging from the global recession, the time was ideal for Malta to take a fresh look at its position.
"Malta has a unique combination of assets that can and should be harnessed to create emotional connections in the minds' of both investors and tourists," Ms Johnson said, adding that Malta was a sophisticated, stable, well-run island with successful institutions "which punch above their weight" as well as a quality of life that was hard to beat.