Now that one of London’s most prestigious and talked about venues, Cutty Sark, is taking bookings for private and corporate events starting in October 2012, Collette and Kerry took the time to visit the venue on a recent trip to London.
The 19th century vessel has been lifted and suspended three metres above her old position, allowing visitors to walk, dine or dance beneath her and for the first time to properly appreciate her beautiful shape – the very reason why she has been famous since the 1870s.
All of Cutty Sark’s three decks are available for exclusive hire. The new 1000m2 gallery beneath the Cutty Sark, ably demonstrated by Collette, can accommodate over 200 guests for formal dining or 300 guests for receptions.
The emphasis in Malta’s tourism policy for 2012 to 2016 is on authenticity, both in terms of hotels and product, Tourism Minister Mario de Marco said this afternoon.
He was speaking during the launch of the policy at the Westin in St Julian’s.
The new policy will be building and consolidating upon the previous one but in a different way, he said.
It biggest emphasis will be on sustainable and responsible tourism.
Dr deMarco said that while it was important to promote tourism, one could not have tourism at all costs. Social and environmental aims also had to be met.
Emphasis would be on tourism based on authenticity.
“We cannot expect to be something we are not. For many years we did not pay enough attention to what is truly Maltese,” Dr de Marco said.
He said that the country needed to continue to invest in cultural heritage, history, and village cores. The country’s tourist attractions were not just in Valletta, Rabat and the Cittadella (Gozo) – they were more widespread. There were many villages in Malta which had the characteristics to offer unique and authentic experience.
He said that more importance would be given to the countryside over the next four years, as this had never really been given any consideration. He noted that 13 per cent of Maltese territory was Natura 2000 sites.
There were four marine protected areas which also had to be given value.
Malta had to be more competitive by being innovative in its offer without losing its authenticity. He stressed the importance of Maltese food and noted that although the choice of restaurants had increased, authentic cuisine was not represented enough.
Dr de Marco said he wanted to see more boutique hotels in Palazzi and old houses for a more personalised experience that tourists were looking for.
He said that in terms of seasonality summer had reached its peak and it would be a mistake to try to increase that.
The minister said that the challenges of the next four years are different to those of previous four, when the emphasis had been on growth. This had been achieved with arrivals increasing from 1.1 million in 2006 to 1.4 million last year.
During the same period, night spent in Malta increased by almost a million and there were many other increases which showed a shift in trends in tourist spend.
The minister said that one of the targets of the policy of the past four years had been accessibility and this had been achieved with 45 scheduled routes and up to 81 destinations served. There were also big increases in arrivals from various markets.
He noted that arrival records were achieved in both April and May and the biggest number of passengers to ever use MIA in one month was reached in June.
“What we need now is a stronger competitive edge, higher value added, improved quality and the achievement of excellence in tourism,” Dr de Marco said.
St. Ermins hotel in Westminster, London has been put up for sale. The property is expected to attract interest from international luxury hotel brands keen to launch a UK presence.
In former times Cais do Sodré was the place of arrival and departure for sailors from all over the world who filled the streets, but now it is now one of the Portuguese capital’s trendiest districts, offering both variety and quality. There are the popular nightclubs Jamaica, Europa and Tóquio, the revamped Roterdão, the more recent Music Box and the new projects accommodated in Pensão Amor.
In this traffic-free area there are several outdoor terraces as well as innovative concepts such as a restaurant (Sol e Pesca) devoted to Portuguese conserves as well as the bars Povo and Velha Senhora. Inspired by Lisboa’s typical tascas (cheap taverns), Povo belongs to the same owners as Music Box and was created as a complement to it. This no-frills space serves traditional snacks like salada de polvo (octopus salad), peixinhos da horta (deep-fried green beans in batter) and ovos verdes (fried devilled eggs) to the sound of Fado, with live music, resident artists and a special preference for the new generation of Fado performers.
Bar da Velha Senhora sought its inspiration in the Cais do Sodré of the old days in order to present a contemporary, uninhibited cabaret. This venue hosts a variety of shows and the menu is typically Portuguese.
Pensão Amor is notable for its trendy burlesque decor, where no chair or sofa is the same but all are upholstered in glossy velvet. The walls are covered with red materials and hung with photographs and the ceilings are painted with replicas of frescoes. A new lease of life is being given to this district of Lisbon and transforming its reputation from that of a rundown area to a popular modern nightspot area which offers memories of the old days.
Arrivals in hotels and other collective accommodation facilities in April stood at 121,042, up by 3.0 per cent when compared to last year, the NSO said today.
Total guest nights edged down by 0.3 per cent to 632,813. Declines were registered in both the 5-and 4-star hotel categories, while 3-star hotels increased by 7.4 per cent.
The average length of stay was calculated at 5.2 nights, down by 0.2 of a night when compared to 2011. The 4-star and 2-star hotel categories registered declines in the number of arrivals of 1.5 and 9.3 per cent respectively, while arrivals in 5-star hotels increased by 6.9 per cent.
When compared to the previous year, the net use of bed-places went up by 1.8 percentage points to 57.5 per cent. The occupancy rate in hotels stood at 60.4 per cent, whereas that calculated for other collective accommodation establishments reached 41.0 per cent.
Declines of 1.0 and 1.3 percentage points were recorded in the occupancy levels of 5- and 4-star hotels respectively, whereas occupancy rates for 3-star hotels increased by 5.8 percentage points to 44.4 per cent.
Regional breakdown
Total arrivals in Malta amounted to 114,805 – 3.3 per cent more than last year. Total nights numbered 613,278, with an average length of stay of 5.3 nights. There was a decrease of 1.9 per cent in arrivals in 4-star hotels, which numbered 53,789 during the month under review.
In contrast, all other hotel categories in Malta registered increases. The occupancy rate was calculated at 58.4 per cent, or 2.0 per cent higher than in 2011.
When compared to the previous year, total arrivals and nights in Gozo and Comino declined to 6,237 and 19,535 respectively.
Despite these drops, the average length of stay remained unchanged at 3.1 nights. The net use of bed-places in Gozo and Comino was estimated at 38.3 per cent, 1.2 percentage points less than last year.
Tourist arrivals in May were up 2.5% over May last year, maintaining the upward trend of the previous two months after a dip in the first months of the year.
The figures for May show a drop in arrivals from the UK which was outweighed by sharp increases in arrivals from Germany and Italy.
The NSO said tourist arrivals in May reached 133,659.
Total nights spent by tourists rose by 12.1 per cent, bringing the average length of stay to 7.5 nights.
Holidaymakers comprised the absolute majority of inbound tourists, and registered an increase of 7 per cent. However, a notable decrease was observed among those travelling for business purposes, the NSO said.
In line with previous months, 87 per cent of inbound tourists came from EU Member States and in particular from the euro area.
Tourists from outside the EU increased over last year, reaching 17,936. The main market for inbound tourists remained the UK, with a share equivalent to 30 per cent of the total. Second was the Italian market, with a share of 12 per cent.
The British market registered a decrease of four per cent, while Germany and Italy experienced increases of 14 and 19 per cent, respectively.
During May, inbound tourists spent a total of over one million nights in Malta, up by 12 per cent when compared to 2011. In absolute terms, the majority of guest nights were spent in collective accommodation establishments and in particular in hotel accommodation. Nonetheless, a substantial increase of 30 per cent in the use of private accommodation was recorded.
The University of Birmingham opened a concert, conference, meetings and events venue, The Bramall Music Building, on 10th June. Featuring the 450-seat Elgar Concert Hall, the £18m facility finally completes a semi-circle of buildings around Chancellor’s Court, with the Great Hall at its centre, that effectively took more than a century to build. The Bramall Music Building has both a moveable stage and seating, as well as meeting rooms and a foyer capable of hosting gatherings. The June date marks the site’s soft launch; officially, it will be launched in November.
Frankfurt/Main, May 31st 2012 – This year IMEX visitors could once again sample the Maltese Islands’ varied conference and incentive travel offer. Together with 23 Maltese co-exhibitors, the Malta Tourism Authority successfully presented the MICE destination Malta within the framework of IMEX in Frankfurt, Germany, from 22nd to 24th May.
IMEX is an annual award-winning trade show for the worldwide meetings, incentive travel and events industry and celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. Around 4,000 high quality hosted buyers attended this year’s edition from an overall total of nearly 9,000 visitors from around the world.
Malta’s Ambassador to Germany, H.E. Karl Xuereb, as well as the Malta Tourism Authority’s CEO Josef Formosa Gauci also attended the Malta IMEX stand.
Renowned Maltese chef Claude Camilleri attracted numerous visitors to the Malta stand by preparing typical Maltese delicacies during daily show-cooking sessions. Furthermore, the Malta Tourism Authority held a Maltese drinks reception at the Malta stand on the occasion of IMEX’ 10th anniversary and Malta’s 10 years presence as an IMEX exhibitor. Moreover, the Malta Tourism Authority again sponsored the public IMEX Café which was branded “the Maltese way” with photos of Malta’s stunning event locations and thus drew particular attention to Malta as a conference and incentive destination.
Department store Harvey Nichols has teamed up with Manchester City Football Club to open a new corporate suite at the Premier League Champions home, The City of Manchester Stadium. The custom-designed space for up to 10 people can even provide a personal shopper, a cocktail masterclass and spa treatments.
A stylish new restaurant, bar and lounge – CottoCrudo – recently opened at Four Seasons Hotel Prague, making the city an even more appealing destination for group events. CottoCrudo, which means “cooked and raw,” introduces Prague to a brand-new dining and lounge concept. The restaurant showcases the latest dining trends, including an Italian classics menu with a modern twist, a central culinary station with prime Italian delicacies, a crudo bar, variable seating options and a very stylish design.
