I refer to Marisa Micallef's Talking Point (February 3). Without going into any of the merits (or demerits) of subjectivity, I would like to clarify a few issues that were raised in Ms Micallef's contribution.

The TV advertisement in question was created by an international communications company at the behest of the Malta Tourism Authority. Prior to its broadcast, a spectrum of overseas tour operators, Malta specialists and focus groups were consulted on its content. The overall reaction to the final product was positive across the board. This particular TV ad was subsequently broadcast across the UK for the first six months of 2008 and for the initial period of 2009. Although it is hard to gauge the direct effectiveness of a TV advert, the overall result could not have been that bad considering that 2008 was a record year for tourism in Malta, with the first six months registering a +10 per cent growth and at the end of the year registering almost + four per cent growth over 2007. According to World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) figures, Malta was, in fact, one of the top tourism performers of 2008.

We all know, however, that this year shall be a challenging one, with the UNWTO predicting zero to negative growth for global tourism. The MTA shall, on its part, be doing its utmost to have an extensive marketing campaign, especially where our core source markets are concerned. To this end, it shall be placing TV adverts in the UK and, for the first time ever, in other main markets, namely Germany, France and Italy, created by the National Geographic media organisation, which adverts are being finalised for imminent broadcast.

The advert comes in four different versions, which, admittedly, may not be enough to suit everyone's tastes, including those of Ms Micallef. It is hard to emulate the French who have come up with 246 types of cheeses (according to Charles de Gaulle's count) to please different tastes. We are confident, however, that this fresh set of visual portraits of the Maltese islands will help to elicit the desired responses in these testing times.