UK survey finds that many don't know where Malta is
A survey carried out for lowcostholidays.com has found that one in four people don't know where Malta is.
1,900 people in the UK search Google for "Where is Malta?" every month, yet incorrect answers from the research included the Red Sea, Atlantic Sea, the Baltic Sea and simply "I don't know".
The lowcostholidays.com survey looked at how the public perceives Malta as a tourist destination. Nearly 8% of people did not know that Malta is an independent country, 19% believe Malta uses the old Lira and one third did not know of any major Maltese tourist resorts.
Lawrence Hunt, COO of lowcostholidays.com said: "At the moment we are the UK's No. 1 tour operator for Malta and it's astonishing to learn that so many people lack a basic understanding of this exciting destination."
Most participants correctly assumed that it is couples who primarily holiday in Malta, and one in three people knew Malta as a great place for scuba diving. Nearly half of the participants recognised Malta's important military history with 75% saying they would consider it for a cultural holiday.
Over 80% of people had never heard of Isle of MTV concert.
http://www.lowcostholidays.com/malta-holidays/malta-holidays-uncovered.htm
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Terry COURTNADGE
Sep 18th 2012, 14:58
Never mind, a mystery location adds to the intrigue ; besides, Malta has a soul at least as big as Australia and a richer culture and heritage.
J. Camilleri
Sep 18th 2012, 13:49
Sfortunatament lanqas il-Maltin stess ma jafu kollox fuq Malta...... Tahsbu li kull Malti jaghti kass ta' x'hawn madwarna??? ( mhux kulhadd oovjament )
Mark Said LL.D.
Sep 18th 2012, 11:18
This shocking revelation should give greater impetus to the Malta Tourism Authority to launch a fierce promotion campaign in the UK.
paul camilleri
Sep 18th 2012, 12:23
we did that at Harrods in London as if all of London visit Harrods!!!!!!
Victor Vella
Sep 18th 2012, 09:48
Taht Mintoff kien jafna kulhadd. Illum dahluna fl-Ewropa u ma jafna hadd. Hehehehe.
Evarist Saliba
Sep 18th 2012, 11:09
A reputation can be positive or negative.
Malta's international reputation in Mintoff's time was not positive and conducive to attracting investment or tourism to bring down unemployment.
Your Hehehehe sound rather asinine.
JOSEPH CROKER
Sep 18th 2012, 09:25
Not surprising at all and puts us in our proper perspective! Some of us seem to think that we are the centre of the world, but in actual fact we are just a minute part of a much larger whole.
Joseph Croker
Keith Cauchi
Sep 18th 2012, 08:07
"Over 80% of people had never heard of Isle of MTV concert." I wouldn't be concerned about this one. Besides, if we're judging Malta's popularity by something such as this, I bet it's a lost cause already. It may be a local attraction but it's not an absolute must if one must know the true face of Malta... in fact, it's not even worth a consideration! The true Malta lies beyond a stage that's dominated by foreigners. This survey, though it reflects the general truth, is heavily flawed in its inception. I'd have it revised for starters
Henry Mifsud
Sep 18th 2012, 07:54
The Mediterranean Sea is the cradle of civilization and for many centuries was considered to be the centre of the world. Malta is at the centre of the Mediterranean and so Malta is the centre of the world .................... or so we seem to think!
The problem with this is lack of awareness might be good news for some who look at tourists as being an intrusion into their life, whilst bad for others especially those who are involved in the tourism industry. Unfortunately Malta failed miserably over the years when it came to Branding and if the results by lowcostholidays.com are anything to go by, the authorities need to really pull their socks up after such a strong wake up call. Millions have been spent in recent years on foreign Branding consultants and more so on futile advertising campaigns; the result of which, or lack of it, only had a negative economic impact on the country. One would perhaps expect such results in markets which are rather new to Malta but not from the UK; its main market! Who knows, maybe those in the ivory tower called MTA will start realizing that the serious cracks which they thought were only visible on the inside are now showing quite glaringly on the facade.
Quo Vadis Malta ?????
G Buhagiar
Sep 18th 2012, 07:02
This outcome of this survey is not a surprise, in fact many people do not know where Malta is... I've been to several places in Europe and they always ask me where it is. They have the impression that Malta is an Arabic country, or in Africa.
Mr Tony Gatt
Sep 18th 2012, 08:36
That Italian restauranteur thought so recently!
I was stopped in France by two Gendarmes years ago for a minor traffic infringement and they didn't know either. I had to explain that Valletta was named after a French Grandmaster of the Order.
Chris Bowen
Sep 18th 2012, 07:00
Ahh.But once you have found Malta,and been to the Island.You never forget it.
A lovely place,with special people.
N. Bill Camilleri
Sep 18th 2012, 03:00
Sometimes, we in Malta, have a very unrealistic perception of our self importance. Very few people in the rest of the world, or even in Europe, know anything about Malta beyond having heard of it or vaguely know where it is. There's nothing wrong with that - it's just that most of us (especially our politicians) don't seem to be aware of this fact.
paul camilleri
Sep 18th 2012, 12:22
mmmm so most who wrote in this colum are politicians???
Saviour Pirotta
Sep 17th 2012, 23:17
I'm not so sure this survey is accurate. I've lived in the UK for 30 years and I have yet to meet anyone who doesn't know where Malta is. In Yorkshire, it's difficult to meet anyone who hasn't been...
Mr Jamie Frendo
Sep 18th 2012, 09:24
With Regards to people from Yorkshire knowing where Malta is or had been I am guessing it's due to the sponsorship of Sheffield United Football team by the MTA saying Visit Malta...it's hard to be in Sheffield and not see the Visit Malta logo!
Mark Chiverton
Sep 17th 2012, 23:11
I have in the Channel Island of Guernsey, only 75 miles from the UK Mainland, and nobody knows where we are!
Almost everyone in Britain (over 30) knows exactly where the neighbouring Island of Jersey is, because of the BBC 1980's television series 'Bergerac', which opened with a map zooming in on the Island. It did more for Jersey Tourism than any advertising campaign ever could.
More recently, Sicily has been put on the map in the UK, USA, and Australia by the wonderful Italian film series Inspector (Commisario) Montalbano.
Maybe a Maltese Tv Company could make and export a Television Series based on the Island?
James Vella Clark
Sep 17th 2012, 23:06
If the survey was carried out on low cost holidays . com, then that's more than fine....
sandro grech
Sep 17th 2012, 22:50
MTA should look deeply into this!
Alfred Falzon
Sep 17th 2012, 22:27
I am not the least surprised.
With many, geography plays second fiddle and the world around them is the one they visualise after watching TV!
In the 21st century, when our planet has been reduced to a global village, this is due to sheer ignorance and narrowmindedness which some Britons and, by the way, others across the planet, enjoy nurturing!
Malta can do without them!
Alfred A. Falzon
Mr Tony Gatt
Sep 18th 2012, 08:41
Try asking in America where Malta is. if you get 1% correct guesses you should give them a prize.
Albert Farrugia
Sep 17th 2012, 21:56
What's the big deal? How many Maltese would be able to place EU Member State Estonia on a map? Or an island like Bermuda? or Madeira? Small countries and islands have, by definiition, a low profile in the world. Conversly, their inhabitants usually think they are the centre of the world. And are then shocked and dismayed to learn of their insignificance. Tough, but who cares anyway?
Steve Elliott
Sep 17th 2012, 21:38
i think this is great news. the less people know the more special malta remains. wonder what the stats are for gozo?
James Tyrrell
Sep 17th 2012, 23:41
They are low Steve I can assure you. When I tell people I go to Gozo every year for a holiday they usually reply, that's in India isn't it?
Glenn Pennington
Sep 17th 2012, 21:19
Living in England yet loving Malta, I suspect that much more could be done to market the country.
We know that there is a historical allignment between our two countries, and the Brits love their foreign holidays. Spain gets most of the trade, but there is no reason Malta couldn't get a bigger share if it sells itself and invests in upgrading facilities.
V Mercieca
Sep 17th 2012, 21:11
When I travel and people ask me where Malta is, I ask them if they are Christians. If they answer in the affirmative I tell them jokingly to look it up in the Bible, Acts of the Apostles 28:2. Then I explain the location commencing from Italy as a start point.
Once I met an American who did not know where Italy was but he knew Rome – funny Americans.
Alex Bugeja
Sep 18th 2012, 03:00
I work with Americans because of what I do and most of them think Europe is a country and the ones who know cannot name 3 countries in Europe......and they ask like "is Paris a country ??or is Malta in Rome ??
.....haha.
Actually some red heads tell me that some folks at home think Texas is the capital of the US.....seems strange but true.
Victor Caruana
Sep 17th 2012, 21:11
I can tell you about 95% of Americans don't know where Malta is. I am always explaining to people where I am from!
Glenn Pennington
Sep 17th 2012, 21:21
95% of Americans don't know where Europe is.
Joseph Camilleri
Sep 17th 2012, 21:24
Most Americans don't know where most other countries are.
George Attard
Sep 17th 2012, 22:54
haha how true! but to say 95% is exageratting a bit. kalma!
Joe Fenech
Sep 17th 2012, 23:33
Most Americans don't know which planet they're living on!
Stephen Farrugia
Sep 18th 2012, 00:30
In a recent survey, 37% of Americans couldn't identify America on the Map...
John Azzopoardi
Sep 18th 2012, 01:19
this is very true. Most Americans, I say 99% and more don't know where Malta is and their sense of other nations is very lacking.
Karl Freedman
Sep 18th 2012, 06:02
Mitt Romney does!!
See: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/13/opinion/collins-mitts-major-meltdown.html?_r=4&pagewanted=all
Mr Tony Gatt
Sep 18th 2012, 08:43
I would put that at 99.99%
paul camilleri
Sep 18th 2012, 08:50
so whats the big deal about 95% of Americans dont know where Malta is??? did it not occur to you that 80% of Americans do not own a passport???
Charles DeMicoli
Sep 20th 2012, 05:21
When fellow Americans ask me where I'm from, they mention the Humphrey Bogart movie "The Maltese Falcon", which has nothing to do with Malta. But they do like to refer to us as Maltese Falcons, amicably of course.
I sense quite a bit of mockery in some of the comments below:
Glenn, they don't need to know where Europe is, they just don't want the US to end up like Europe;
JC: they don't need to know. Heard of GPS ? Most Americans vacation in the Caribbean. NYC gets 50 million tourists a year, a good number from the rest of the US;
Paul C: the number is 62%
George Attard: you rock!
Joe Fenech: how many planets have you landed humans and equipment on? For that matter, how many other countries have done that? Even private american firms are going into space now, something most countries will never be able to do.
Tony Gatt: make sure you kiss the picture of the Queen before going to bed. The only reason the english language is still significant is because it is spoken in the US. Had the US have another language, guess what language the internet, international business, science, etc. would be in?
How many Europeans know where Malta is?
Pippo De Marco
Sep 17th 2012, 21:09
This doesn't come as a surprise, or even a disappointment. Those tourists who want to come to Malta know where it is and they know what to expect. Those (maybe) tourists who couldn't find Malta on a map and who think we are a resort somewhere in Spain, probably couldn't find the floor with their shoes.
So don't lose any sleep. I think we can muddle through without a few intellectually challenged tourists who can't see anything beyond the bottom of a pint glass. And if we can't do without them, then things really are a lot worse than our politicians are telling us. But then that wouldn't come as a surprise either.
paul camilleri
Sep 18th 2012, 08:58
you may have a point but then why bother with cheap cost flight airlines in the first place, if not to attract the cheap tourist that as you say and i quote " a few intellectually challenged tourists who cant see anything beynd the bottom of a pint glass" unquote ?????
Robert Agius
Sep 17th 2012, 20:36
....yet the Maltese still think that Malta is the centre of the universe.
john gittos
Sep 17th 2012, 20:25
I would like to know the age of those who did not know where Malta is that would be more telling I think , and that maybe where lowcost holidays need to concentrate .
Lawrence Camilleri
Sep 17th 2012, 20:21
Not at all surprised. Unlike Euronews, in their weather forecast BBC never show the word Malta on the weather map. Could it possibly be that not even BBC know if Malta exists? Can't the Maltese High Commmissioner in London make appropriate representations to BBC?
Paul Portelli
Sep 17th 2012, 20:14
but we went in europe so the world will know who we are? Dr gonzi please note
Alex Buds
Sep 17th 2012, 20:10
I'm personally impressed they remember the Maltese lira...
john muscat
Sep 17th 2012, 20:02
The problem is M(a)lta is called M(o)lta in England. The Germans, Italians, French, etc all pronounce it as it should be Ma(a)lta,
James Dewar
Sep 17th 2012, 21:29
John, it's only pronounced M(o)lta in posh English speak whilst the rest of the UK pronounce it as M(a)lta! One must allow for language variations for example Americans tend to pronounce Scotland as SKATLAND!
Joe Borg
Sep 17th 2012, 22:51
Yes thats exactly what the problem is ... its all about the pronunciation, if only they could say it with an (a)!!
paul camilleri
Sep 18th 2012, 09:34
you are wrong the French call Malta MaltE
Ruben Mifsud
Sep 17th 2012, 19:00
If we expect that all the world should know where Malta is, we must really be pretending too much!! There is one Birmingham in UK and one in US, Syracuse one in sicily and one in US, Rabat one in Malta, one in Gozo and one in Marocco!! and the list goes on and on..... Even on this little country you'll find... Mgarr? Malta or Gozo. Zebbug? Malta or Gozo.. Xaghra? Malta or Gozo... Let alone in this whole world... The good news is that there is still a potential for first time tourist to visit Malta!!
A. Schembri
Sep 17th 2012, 19:10
in malta its xghajra not xaghra..in gozo only its xaghra...
Jesmond Chetcuti
Sep 17th 2012, 21:07
in the US there is another Malta too...
paul camilleri
Sep 18th 2012, 07:54
there is also one in the US
Victor Pulis
Sep 18th 2012, 10:13
There are at least 7 Maltas in the USA!
Charles Cremona
Sep 17th 2012, 18:57
In Australia people think Malta is in North Africa.
Peter Murray
Sep 17th 2012, 20:32
In the UK the Royal Post for many yeras -for stamp prices related to postal areas -linked Malta with North Afirca also
James Dewar
Sep 17th 2012, 21:30
Mmm? I wonder what would make them think that?
Steve Elliott
Sep 17th 2012, 22:27
THINK YOU MEAN "NORTH OF AFRICA"
Anthony Arpa
Sep 17th 2012, 18:41
This shows and proves that there is still n illeterate people around ... Malta have 7000 years of History beside that Malta was ruled by the UK CROWN FOR SO MANY YEARS .
Also Malta Island was a very Important Island for the Brithish Empire during the World war 2 ....
We are right then that we are so proud with People standards of Education.
Derek Nicholson
Sep 17th 2012, 20:35
Having read your comment I must agree; there are indeed still illiterate people around.
K. Vella II
Sep 17th 2012, 20:54
The UK crown owned half of the world. Besides, I doubt anyone still cares about the ex-colonies.
Andrew Cauchi
Sep 17th 2012, 23:42
Wow, you're certainly worthy of accusing others of being illiterate.
James Hili
Sep 17th 2012, 18:29
The results of these survey come as no surprise for..having lived in Milan for a number of years I was faced with the same dilemma most of the times...few can place Malta on the map
Ian Glazier
Sep 17th 2012, 18:26
On Saturdays in Scotland the Main Newspaper The Daily Record advertises thousands of foreign holidays and it is rare if any include Malta as a destination.
Someone is not doing their job.
If the Isle of Malta MTV concert is one of the highlights then I understand why people would not want to visit at that time.It is for a very limited audience.
Malta has plenty to offer rather than that concert.
Jesmond Chetcuti
Sep 17th 2012, 21:05
Ian, I live in Scotland too and Malta is on the holiday pages in the Mirror both Saturday and Sunday, you dont expect that Malta is going to be on all papers, after all on the Daily Record they dont advertise all the world destinations...
D. Xerri
Sep 17th 2012, 18:19
The thing that irritates me most is that when I travelled to certain countries when I said where I am from - Malta - I was faced with the pathetic question of - What is Malta ? ....... instead of Where is Malta ? :~)
That just means that most people Never Ever Even heard the wording Malta - go figure if they know where it is :~)
Happened to me many many times in the U.S. - in FAR EASTERN Countries and even European Member State countries :~) - and to those that know where Malta is there is half of them considering us as part of Italy mostly !
Wilfred Camilleri
Sep 17th 2012, 20:32
Most Americans don't know anything about Canada and Canada shares the longest border in the world with the US and is the US's biggest trading partner! So don't be surprised that they don't know that Malta exists!!
Jane Falzon
Sep 17th 2012, 22:10
It irritates you that people ask 'what' instead of 'where'? Have you considered that maybe english is taught as a foreign language rather than as one's second language? In some european countries, english has only recently, comparatively speaking, been taught in schools, maybe these last 20 years or so. Before that they would have been taught russian. Can you ask 'where is...' in russian, considering you'd never have been taught it but maybe caught a bit here and there? Also can you correctly place every EU country without consulting a map?
simon ellul sullivan
Sep 17th 2012, 18:18
here's another interesting fact...many many many italians think Malta is another Italian island along with lampedusa pantelleria etc !
D. Xerri
Sep 17th 2012, 18:27
Very Much True in the year 2012 !
martin chetcuti
Sep 17th 2012, 19:28
Perhaps in World War 2 many Italians did know that Malta is not part of Italy for they where heavily punished whenever they tried to attack it...
George Farrugia
Sep 17th 2012, 20:18
Simon...as far as the Italians are concerned, they are not far off the mark....Mussolini had declared Malta as an Italian island in an Edict signed a few years before the last war, and according to my information, this Edict had never been reversed by the Italian legislatures of the post ware era. In the '70's when a European passport was very much important for any Maltese who wished to establish residence in the EU, on a flight to Zurich I even met a Maltese person with an Italian passport obtained on the strength of this Edict.
John J Borg
Sep 17th 2012, 21:43
.....they used to call the mediterranean...`mare nostrum` meaning our sea...no wonder they pretended the islands belong to them
Carmel Camenzuli
Sep 17th 2012, 17:45
If these people never heard of Malta one wonders if they ever read their Nation's History, at least during World war 2.
J Debrincat
Sep 17th 2012, 21:19
You have to admit that Malta does not maybe play as prominent role in their history as we would have thought/hoped. I agree it is important and we were a major naval base, "stepping stone to Africa" etc but given that at the time there were much more significant events (to them) occurring such as D-day, Holocausts, Blitzs, countries falling and so on the Maltese chapter is sadly not as prominent.
paul camilleri
Sep 18th 2012, 07:52
mmmmmm where does Malta actually come in Englands National History??? during WW2 the mention of Malta and its battle is very limited. one can see this even on TV documentaries in a 30 minute film Malta is probably mentioned between 5 and 10 minutes max.
should one visit the War Musuem in Lambeth Londan Malta is Mentioned as the only country to be awarded the George Cross, that's about all.
so one can forget about reading the British National history. the tourist that do and did come to Malta are people that either served in malta or relatives / friends of people that served in Malta
Leslie Darmanin
Sep 17th 2012, 17:42
If 75 per cent of respondents in this survey (assuming it is scientific) actually said they would consider Malta as a cultural holiday destination, that is one hell of an achievement for Malta's promotion in the UK. It is a much needed departure from the "sunny Malta" cliche. As to the fact that one in four do not know where Malta is, or have misconceptions of the island - well, a comparative survey would be required for other tourist destinations to come to any conclusions. Here we are also talking of the education level of the respondents.. And as to the Isle of MTV concert, who ever heard of that? It just throws doubt on all of this so-called survey.
John Borg
Sep 17th 2012, 17:40
1 in 4 is not many. expecting everyone knows where Malta is, is simply big big headedness. as if the world spun around Malta. maybe when labour is elected more will know about Gozo as yesterday we heard the great leader saying that he wants Gozo to be the driver of the the Maltese economy
D. Xerri
Sep 17th 2012, 18:26
Well if 1 in 4 dont know where Malta is - thats Surely not a Success for a Government being there for 25 year when it comes to Foreign Agenda isnt it :~) ?
I dont need a Government to tell me its successes but Foreign People to tell me the successes of the Government when it comes to Foreign Relations :~) - and this survey seems to be the Perfect Example !
Charles Micallef
Sep 17th 2012, 17:37
UK Tourism patronised Malta mainly because of the now declining older generation mainly through their connections made while serving with the British services some of which were stationed or passed through Malta.
The survey confirms that the UK market has not been fully tapped or exploited yet !
Patrick Camilleri
Sep 17th 2012, 17:36
Tongue firmly in cheek I would say it's not all that bad ...... when they say some 37% of Americans can't find the USA on a map of the Americas ......
John Scerri
Sep 17th 2012, 17:34
That's nothing..... Most common people in the United States think that we Canadians all live in igloos.
Most tourists here are from the United States.
Ivan Grech Mintoff
Sep 17th 2012, 17:47
You mean you don't...?
(hehehe)
Peter Murray
Sep 17th 2012, 17:33
How can this be -given that according to other surveys it is the "BEST PLACE FOR BRITONS TO RETIRE"
Paul Preston
Sep 17th 2012, 18:15
Hmm .. A very good point !
simon ellul sullivan
Sep 17th 2012, 18:20
because all the ones that know about Malta come here -hence the ones remaining there to answer these surveys are yet to be enlightened ...
Peter Murray
Sep 17th 2012, 18:46
Simon,
In the best place to retire survey they never actually asked any people-incredulous but true.The point I was making is not to take any surveys seriously
Charles Cremona
Sep 17th 2012, 19:01
Ask the Maltese Estate Agents because they are the once that started this nonsence.
john gittos
Sep 17th 2012, 20:16
Peter how right you are if we are to believe what is said here how can these other surveys on tourism be right ..
paul camilleri
Sep 17th 2012, 17:32
this only shows how much advertising Mr Lawrence Hunt COO of lowcostholidays.com is doing, maybe it is time to start spending some money that our country paid you to promote it.
one easy way to promote Malta is by stating it as an island 60 miles south of Sicily in the Meditteranean sea.
that would certainly point potential tourists in the right direction.
and i also googled Malta and guess what it goes straight to Malta, maybe the people you interviewed and ended up in the Baltic mistook you for YALTA and other similar names
Joseph V Savona
Sep 17th 2012, 18:16
Bet these people do not know where Sicily is as well!!!!
Mr ALBERT LEONE GANADO
Sep 17th 2012, 20:20
Nothing surprising here . The important element is whether they heard the name of Malta and whether they associate it as a tourist place. How many of us would know for example where a large American or Canadian city ten times our size is on the map or indeed know where any of the 50 USA states are located within the map of America.
Please choose the reason of your report below: