In the last fifty years, the number of tourists has multiplied exponentially across the Mediterranean region, which is currently the main tourist destination on the planet with more than 232 million international tourists per year, accounting for thirty percent of the totality of the world market and twenty-five percent of the tourist income.
This explains why Mediterranean countries have a great dependency on tourism as an economic activity and strategy of development. Malta is indeed one of them.
However, Mediterranean countries do not really collaborate on this front and many a times hit the international headlines for the wrong reasons such as terrorist acts, conflict, immigration and economic difficulties. This is probably because the Mediterranean is one of the rare borders in the world that separates two adjacent areas with opposite demographic characteristics and contrasted levels of development.
Indeed, this region, through its diversity, is representative of the rest of the planet and is thus a life-size laboratory for the World Vision exercise. In the meantime, Mediterranean countries are undergoing intensive demographic, social, cultural, political, economic, and environmental changes giving rise to various questions: Where will these changes lead? What lies ahead for the Mediterranean countries?
How will they confront the ever-increasing difficulties being encountered? The good news is that the Mediterranean has a great story to share with the rest of the world, a story which has placed the Mediterranean region on top of the preference list of yesterdays and increasingly todays and tomorrow’s travellers.
In this context, Malta though the Mediterranean Tourism Foundation, the Ministry of Tourism, the Malta Tourism Authority and the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association have worked together with international associates to organize the Mediterranean Tourism Forum which over the past years has established itself as one of the most important conferences about Mediterranean tourism in the World. The aim of the Forum has been to convene in Malta stakeholders from all over the world who hold an interest in Mediterranean tourism and accordingly share knowledge and explore avenues to collaborate. Tourism is defined in its widest sense, as indeed we believe that tourism is not just about hotels and restaurants but involves other economic and social segments such as education, construction, technology, health, security, culture and the arts, the environment, and the interests of society at large.
After great difficulties caused to all of us in the tourism sector by the Covid 19 pandemic the Mediterranean Tourism Foundation is now back to kick off a special summer season. So, we decided to celebrate this extraordinary event by inviting over 80 multidisciplinary experts on one stage to share their knowledge and ignite practical ideas about how to sustainably grow business, improve career opportunities and how to do good to society through tourism. That’s why the theme of the Forum of this year is “Mediterranean BRAIN,” because in the face of the challenges that we are all facing – pandemic, war, climate change, global inflation – we need to re learn how to use our brains to rethink the way we work, rethink the way we live.
The Forum’s distinctive characteristic from other similar conferences is that it acts as a stage where new practical ideas are presented with a special focus on acting as a catalyst to bring the best actors of the travel, tourism and hospitality sector together and devise new products, policies and strategies which can also be potentially showcased in Malta. Indeed, the Forum puts into practice the principle of CO-OPETITION – that is the practice where competitors cooperate because they recognize that there are important synergies for doing so. Malta as a small destination set in the middle of the Mediterranean benefits when the identity and image of the Mediterranean is collectively positioned high, so this explains why Malta has been a pioneer and leader on this front by supporting the organization of the Mediterranean Tourism Forum which now runs into the 7th edition. As part of the Forum events, personalities who
through their work and talents contributed towards the promotion of sustainable growth of tourism across the Mediterranean region, are recognised and awarded during a special event held under the distinguished patronage of the President of Malta HE Dr George Vella.
Briefly the proceeding of the Forum is as follows: the Tuareg from the Sahara Desert will be doing the opening act, and this will lead us to a virtual journey leading to the re-opening of the Royal Opera House of Malta. We will then address what’s happening in the world from the perspective of an economist, a disruptor, a psychologist, and a historian. Thereafter we will explore the opportunities which are arising in the tourism, hospitality and travel sector and thereafter discuss innovative solutions and applications of technology to breakthrough new ideas. The Forum will then give birth to the BRAIN – the Business Research and Innovation Network; an innovation hub which will be the legacy of this year’s Forum. Climate change activist Michael Haddad who will be just arriving to Malta after finishing his goal to walk 100Km across the Arctic to highlight the need and urgency for climate action will be the first speaker.
What makes Michael outstanding is that he was subject to a spinal cord injury that left 75% of his body completely paralyzed from the chest down. Former President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic will close the Plenary session of the Forum. Rajan Datar from BBC and Nikoletta Kritikou from Euronews will be moderating the Forum with the participation of Jill Hellman, Chief Innovator & Cornell University Lecturer and Ahmet Binay, Film Producer and Storyteller.
After lunch then there will be 8 Master Classes to choose one from them – all different topics ranging from gastronomy to finance and technology to a service excellence special class by Forbes Travel Guide. Indeed, there is something for everyone as we will be talking about religious tourism, sport tourism, events, concerts, culture, olive oil and wine, ottoman cuisine, EU funds and new sources of finance for investment, and eco designs and architecture for the future, real estate, inclusivity, gender equality, climate change, metaverse and robots, recruitment, and training and much more.
This Forum appeals to all those who in one way or another have at heart the travel, tourism, and hospitality sector.
For more information kindly refer to www.medtourismforum.com
