The ferry to Gozo, by Pat Waterton
“By the time you have found a spot on the ferry to Gozo, applied the sun cream and sat back, you have arrived…”
The Valetta lifestyle, by Sara Mason-Parker
“I lost myself among a mixture of souvenirs, fake designer clothes, local foods and everyday household goods…”
Shopping in Sliema, by Sandy Ogier
“Sliema is a busy town with nice views of Valletta, and it’s a great place to enjoy the cafe culture…”
A scenic seaplane ride, by Neil Basnett
“We flew along Malta’s northern shore, which gave us a wonderful aerial shot of all the hotels and Convention Centre…”
Top-end hotels, by Conor Magee
“Its typical Maltese architecture contrasts with the baroque and massive bastion walls that surround Valletta…”
Valetta’s history, by Phil Hindle
“If that’s not enough the Cathedral also has two paintings by the 16th Century master Caravaggio…”
Sponsor comments
The roving reporters programme was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) and Belleair Holidays. Here’s what they had to say.
Alex Incorvaja, MTA UK director, says: “Hosting Abta’s Travel Convention in 2010 gave the MTA the perfect opportunity to highlight the unique proposition that Malta and Gozo have to offer, giving delegates a true taste of what the islands are all about.
“The UK is Malta’s largest source market in terms of tourist arrivals, and we rely heavily on agents to represent our best interests. Thus, hosting Travel Weekly’s agent reporter programme made perfect sense.
“Abta and the MTA obtained first hand, unbiased feedback through reports and blogs about their experiences. This was an excellent tool to transmit our message!”
Emma Yorke, national sales manager of Belleair Holidays, says: “For us it was really important to host the agents, to showcase our product and challenge some popular misconceptions.
“Malta is many things to many people, but those in the know understand why clients are returning year after year to the ultimate short-haul destination, and that is what we wanted to demonstrate to our agents.
“We are the largest UK specialist operator to Malta and its islands, and as we are celebrating our 40th anniversary next year we have a variety of trade activity planned for 2011. This includes online travel training, fam trips, a new brochure for summer 2011 featuring fantastic offers, new features and value added deals, and an exciting trade campaign to celebrate our 40th, as well as our Facebook page, Belleair-Agents.”
