Malta Tourism Authority

Placement organization

Name of organization: Malta Tourism Authority
Town/city: Valletta
Country: Malta
Website: http://www.meet-malta.com

Student

Name of student: Bob van Egmond

Specialist area: MT
Placement period: 2013-2014

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Tourism Board
Organization’s activities: • To promote and advance Malta as a tourism destination
• To advise Government on tourism operations and to issue licences under the Act
• To contribute toward the improvement of the level of human resources in the tourism industry
• To advise government on the planning and development of the tourism industry as well as on the infrastructure supporting the industry.

Target group of the organization: All tourists visiting Malta, but the source markets are the UK, Italy, Germany, France and Scandinavia.
Company culture: http://www.mta.com.mt/Organisation (organizational chart)
Within the Marketing division, there are several segments that work on niche markets such as History and Culture, MICE, Tour Operating & Leisure, Cruise, EFL, Sports together with the marketing of Gozo as a distinct destination.

Number of employees: ± 100
Dress code: formal
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? Marketing department, MICE-segment (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events)
Brief description of your daily activities: • Assist MICE Manager and Head office team with various projects.
• Assist with general office duties (Clerical and telephone operation).
• Assist with the implementation of Marketing plan and advertising schedule.
• Liaise with the MTA’s overseas network and local stakeholders.
• Reply to client enquiries.
• Manage various databases
• Co-ordinate joint-advertising campaign, familiarisation trip support scheme.
• Assist with the coordination of MICE events, including fairs, workshops and networking events taking place overseas.
• Co-ordinate website updates and social media marketing campaigns

Brief description of your company assignment: Strategic marketing plan for Dutch market – which ties into overall MTA objectives for MICE
• Website translation and development / adaptation of meet-malta.com in Dutch
• SWOT analysis
• Recommendations for improvements
• Social Media Marketing campaign targeted at Dutch market or generic

Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: My supervisor and colleagues were very nice but, they didn’t help me that much with my assignment and other tasks. Most of the time they were doing their own thing. Sometimes it bothers me because my supervisor was always very busy with meetings and that kind of things.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? • Flexible • Independent • Creative • Patient • Sociable • Representative
Additional company requirements for this placement? Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint (basic knowledge) And internet
English: Advanced
Spanish:
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: It is an island so you have to go by airplane. From the airport my landlord picked me up but I had to pay him. You can go from Schiphol or Eindhoven airport. I went from Eindhoven because it was cheaper (Ryanair).

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? I arranged my accommodation after I spook with the intern who was doing her internship at the MTA before me. She was also a NHTV student and the price was not that bad.
How did you go to work every day? Public transport

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? no
Do you need a work permit? no
How did you arrange the necessary documents: /
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? /
Did you need certain vaccinations? No
How long in advance? /

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? No
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? No

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 240 (outbound flight 120 return flight 120)
Accommodation (monthly): € 250 excl. gas water and light. Gas water and light about 40 euros
Local transport (monthly): € 20
General costs of living (monthly): € 400
Costs of visa: € /
Costs of work permit: € /
What did the company pay for/to you? One time payment of 300 euros

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I did research on the internet, I asked a friend of my who was born in Malta and lived there about 22 years and I spoke an intern who worked at the MTA before me.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? Most of the time didn’t it influence my performance. The only few things were the buses who were never on time and the people are never on time but that is probably because of the public transport. Comparing with working in the Netherlands it is almost the same only a bit more relaxed.

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: 113404@edu.nhtv.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: – Get a student public transport cards Normal 1 week bus ticket is 12 euro a 3 months bus cards for students is only 60 euro. But you have to give them a photocopy of your passport photo and a photocopy of your internship contract.
– When you go to Paceville (the place where everyone is going out) watch out! There are a lot of pickpockets during the tourist period on Malta.
– During you placement: Be patient and flexible with regards to the tasks given to you. It is also good to be creative and driven to find tasks to work on. I have also noted that whenever you are not sure of something, it is much better to ask advice then to do what you think is best.
– If you will need social media for your internship assignment ask the company if you can work one day at home because, a lot of websites (like social media) are blocked at the office.

Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: – Paceville: nice place to have a drink, in the afternoon there are a lot of places where you can buy 1 cocktail and get 1 free.
– Sliema: Many stores (Zara, Diesel etc), also Tigne Point, which is a large shopping mall.
– Gozo and Comino (the Blue Lagoon), nice for a day trip.
– Golden bay, Mellieha Bay and paradise bay are beautiful sandy beaches.
– St. Peter’s pool, Anchor bay and St Thomas Bay are beautiful rocky beaches.
– There are a lot of different events in Malta, Like music events, wine events, beer events etc.
– There are many scuba dive and/or snorkeling places in and around Malta.
– The possibilities in Malta are infinite. There is something to do for everybody if you like to lie down on the beaches or go out for some adventures activities, the sky is the limit.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link