The newly created Malta Tourist Authority has hired
travel-specialist McCluskey and Associates as part of its effort to
promote the island as an all year holiday destination to UK
citizens.
The agency was appointed after a three-way pitch including Quarterback
Communications and HDM, which continues as the tourist authority’s
advertising agency. McCluskey replaces Susan Martin Associates who held
the PR account from September 1997 until February of this year. Since
then, PR had been handled in-house.
The tourist authority was created at the beginning of September,
replacing the Government-led National Tourism Association of Malta. The
new body will be driven by the private sector, with the aim of forging
closer links between Malta’s private and public sectors.
The UK is the number one place of origin for tourists to Malta and in
1998, 450,000 Brits visited the islands. The brief covers not just Malta
but the other Maltese islands of Gozo and Comino. The aim behind both
the change in association and PR agency is to help boost the fluctuating
tourist numbers visiting Malta.
According to Sarah Sheehan, the McCluskey director heading to account,
the agency is keen to exploit the growing diving holiday market, the
youth market focusing on Malta as a nightlife resort, and the older
market focusing on Malta as a sunshine resort all year round.
