The Malta Tourism Authority has signed two long-term, marketing support agreements with British tour operators Thomas Cook and Saga Holidays, aimed at increasing tourist flows from the UK.

The agreements encompass all facets of the companies' marketing opportunities, ranging from joint TV and print advertising to online activity and high street exposure.

"By means of these, the Malta Tourism Authority is moving away from season-by-season agreements that focus on the short term, in favour of longer-term plans that place significant emphasis on incremental business," the Authority said.

Josef Formosa Gauci, the MTA's CEO, signed a four-year strategic agreement with Thomas Cook's Overseas Purchasing Director, Philip Poile and Thomas Cook Contracts Manager in charge of Malta, Ray Manara, as well as a three-year agreement with Helen Adamson, Customer Marketing Director for Saga Holidays. The agreements were signed in London in the presence of Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco and Louis Farrugia, MTA Chairman.

Dr de Marco said that Thomas Cook and Saga Holidays were two of the key tour operator partners for Malta, and they were showing their confidence in Malta as a strong tourism destination for U.K visitors in the coming years.

Likewise, the MTA was endorsing the importance of tour operator traffic, where in an ever-evolving marketplace, packaged travel remained a key component of the overall business mix delivery to the Islands.

MTA CEO, Josef Formosa Gauci, added that "these agreements demonstrate the operators' commitment to the destination and are performance related, thus incentivising Thomas Cook and SAGA to provide incremental delivery of tourists to the Islands over the next four years and three years respectively."

Thomas Cook Group is one of the world's leading travel groups, operating a portfolio of market-leading travel brands in 21 markets, whereas Saga Holidays is an operator specialising in the over 50's travel market, providing holidays to worldwide destinations, including cruises on its own ships. Malta is also being recognized as one of Saga's key destinations in its forthcoming programmes.

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