Despite the global economic scenario, Malta has witnessed a small but sustained increase in conference and incentive travel over the past three years, Josef Formosa Gauci , CEO of the Malta Tourism Authority, said.

“We need to stay on top of our game and listen to what the client wants in order to further grow this sector,” he said following the MTA participation at the IMEX Fair in Frankfurt.

As well as MTA, there was a considerable Maltese presence at the fair, including a team from the national airline Air Malta and 23 Maltese partners including hotels, meeting venues, destination management companies and suppliers. IMEX in Frankfurt is one of the world’s leading International exhibitions for incentive travel, meetings and events.

Over 3,900 hosted buyers from 75 countries attended the show (among an overall visitor total of nearly 9,000), 27 per cent of them from long-haul markets, which is up from 25 per cent in 2012.