Visitors from Poland were up more than 12 per cent in the first eight months of this year, with increased marketing efforts by the Malta Tourism Authority in the country seeming to bear fruit.
During 2017, 89,335 visitors came to Malta from Poland, making it the fifth largest source market to the country. This positive trend is set to continue this year, with more than 100,000 Polish visitors projected to visit the Maltese islands by the end of this year.
The Malta Tourism Authority said the extraordinary results were the culmination of years of consistent work by MTA in Poland, as well as increased connectivity between the Maltese Islands and various cities in Poland, including the capital Warsaw, Gdansk, Wroclaw, Poznan, Krakow and Katowice through Ryan Air, Air Malta and Wizz Air.
The MTA took park in a number of tourism events and travel fairs in Poland over the past year, with one of the most recent ones being a joint trade event organised in Warsaw in conjunction with EXIM Tours and supported by the Maltese ambassador in Poland.
MTA’s senior manager responsible for Eastern European markets Jimmy Attard participated in the event and held meetings with the trade representatives.
Throughout this year, a number of marketing activities were also carried out to ensure further exposure for the Maltese islands. These included digital media, television and marketing campaigns in conjunction with major tour operators, social media activity, familiarisation trips and press visits.
MTA also recently appointed Travel Advance as its new representatives in Poland. Travel Advance will be tasked with developing new business to Malta and Gozo after winning an international tender.
Gavin Gulia, MTA’s executive chairman said there were many aspects of the Maltese Islands which attracted Polish visitors, with the most popular being city breaks, sun and fun holidays, local culture and gastronomy as well as active holidays.
“However, there was still room for growth in the Polish market, particularly in the family, religious tourism and EFL segments and the MTA will continue its efforts to surpass the 100,000 mark by the end of this year,” Dr Gulia said.