"The synergy between airlines, tour operators, hotels, restaurants and the public sector has proven to be the cornerstone of Malta's success as a tourism destination" – Minister for Tourism Edward Zammit Lewis during the World Travel Market in London.

The Minister for Tourism Dr Edward Zammit Lewis has participated in the ninth edition of the United Nations of World Travel Organisation (UNWTO) Ministers' Summit, moderated by CNN Correspondent Richard Quest, the most significant event on a high-level during the World Travel Market held in London.

The theme of the discussion was Destination Branding: new challenges in a changing market. During his address, the Minister for Tourism stated that destination branding process requires a coherent nationwide coordination and an integrated approach while the core values pertaining to the destination need to be owned by all stakeholders within the sector.

This calls for a robust collaborative approach between all concerned parties which is of paramount importance as the message conveyed needs to be unified, the Minister continued.

During the two day visit, the Minister for Tourism Dr Edward Zammit Lewis held a bilateral meeting with the Minister for Tourism of Bulgaria, Ms Nikolina Angelkova, mainly discussing the creation of an informal Council of Ministers for Tourism of the European Union which, it is being proposed, will be hosted by the country holding the chair of the Council of the European Union. Malta will be hosting the presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2017.

On the occasion of the World Travel Market, the Minister for Tourism Dr Edward Zammit Lewis was formally invited to a network event by the Malta High Commission in London aimed at both local and foreign operators operating in the tourism sector in Malta.

During this event, the Minister noted that the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) has praised the growth of the tourism sector in Malta by referring to it as "robust and positive." In addition, the Minister pointed out that the latest WTO Barometer published in August notes that global tourism between January and June of this year rose by 4% whereas, for this same period, arrivals to Malta rose above this average, specifically by 5.3%.

The Minister for Tourism stated that Government is making inroads with regards to our policy objectives, that of reducing seasonality patterns. He reiterated that between January and March of this year, arrivals increased by almost 8% to reach 250,000.

The Minister for Tourism Dr Edward Zammit Lewis, together with senior Malta Tourism Authority officials, also attended several meetings with current and prospective tour operators interested in our market.

During these meetings the Minister discussed the Maltese tourism product, proposals from the same operators and how Government intends to improve the tourism product also on the longer term. The Tourism Minister also held a series of meetings with various airlines operators and discussed the possibility of opening new routes to/from our shores.

The Minister expressed his satisfaction with all the operators for all their hard work during the past year that was marked as the most successful in the tourism history of Malta and Gozo.

The World Travel Market is the largest tourism fair held every year in London with more than 50,000 visitors, mostly operators from the world's tourism industry.

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