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MESSAGE FROM DR FRANCIS ZAMMIT DIMECH - MINISTER FOR TOURISM & CULTURE
Excellent endorsement
I share the Malta Tourism Authority chairman's view that in an age where tourism movements are far more the result of individual choices made through the Internet than moving of large volumes through tour operators and agents, advertising becomes crucial. We can remain competitive by advertising more and more. A trend in favour of individuals making their own choices and, incidentally, using in this process more low cost carrier options, means on the downside that the number of bed nights is on the decline.
While expenditure is encouragingly far higher than it used to be, you cannot blame any hotelier who would still like to fill the empty bed nights. For him, that is a wasted resource and he still has some way to go before achieving a reasonable gross operating profit.
Media Consulta have been appointed for a few weeks and are clearly determined to do a fantastic job and offer Malta value for money. They point out that, apart from advertising, Malta needs positive editorial content - being in the news more often - for the right reasons.
Yesterday afternoon I was in Gozo to follow the shooting on location of three episodes of Coronation Street. That series kicked off on December 9, 1960. It now has an audience of over ten and a half million viewers and is screened five times a week on British television.
The MTA extended its support towards this initiative, made possible through the work put in by Winston Azzopardi. The filming of episodes pertaining to such a series offers our destination excellent endorsement. In the meantime, we're working on similar initiatives such as the Italian TV series Carabinieri
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ICON Studios
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