MTA research shows that 30% of
inbound tourists are repeat visitors,
going up to 56% in the case the UK
market. When it comes to tourists’
decision to visit the Maltese Islands,
the research shows that 39% of de-
cisions are based on digital media
and a further 35% are based on
word-of-mouth recommendations.
Generally speaking, nine of every
ten tourists currently visiting
Malta rate the ‘hospitality of lo-
cal people’ as very good or good,
while 93% of tourists rate the
overall experience positively and
would recommend the destination
to their friends and relatives.
Tourism in the digital era is a whole
new ballgame. Travellers now have
access to unlimited research out-
lets and peer reviews. Of those
who use travel blogs, forums and
review sites, it emerges that more
often than not, such online tools
have had an influence on the trav-
el decision. In fact, data by IPK
International indicates that 39%
of travellers admit that such sites
have influenced their choice of
30% of inbound tourists
are repeat visitors, going
up to 56% in the case
the UK market.
HOSPITALITY MALTA
“93% of tourists rate the overall experience positively and would
recommend the destination to their friends and relatives”
travel destination, 31% on choice
of accommodation and a further
20% on choice of holiday type.
MTA’s own research further con-
firms that these sources play a ma-
jor role in the decision making of
tourists. The latest surveys sug-
gest that four of every five tourists
currently visiting Malta are social
media users. During their stay,
around 53% of tourists access the
internet/social media to share sta-
tuses/photos/videos of their ex-
perience in Malta. This is mostly
done via smartphones.
In recent years the Malta Tourism
Authority has ramped up its efforts
in terms of guarding Malta’s rep-
utation as a tourism destination.
Through its partnership with
ReviewPro – a market leader in
online reputation management
solutions - the MTA constant-
ly monitors the online reviews
of over 110 Maltese collective ac-
commodation establishments on a
daily basis. ReviewPro collates such
reviews from around 70 different
sites, including booking engines,
social media and review sites, cov-
ering all the major languages.
The main objective of this Repu-
tation Management exercise is to
pay particular attention to nega-
tive reviews which are made about
tourists’ accommodation experi-
ences while in Malta. When moni-
toring such reviews, MTA makes it
a point to alert the establishment
concerned so as to encourage a
response to the negative review.
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