Tourism and Hospitality Sector to Benefit from Free Digital Training

Rapid technological advancements are driving people to shift away from traditional sources of information and more towards different channels, such as websites and social media to search and book for travel and leisure activities. Such channels are easily accessible in today’s digital age where the use of smartphones is on the increase, as is that for other mobile devices such as tablets. This means that individuals wishing to travel have access to information anytime, anywhere. It is therefore a question of survival for operators within the Tourism industry to maximise the potential of digital channels to leverage on the ability of consumers to interact and engage directly with them in a highly dense online environment. 

Following the launch of the National eCommerce Strategy (2014-2020) and the Malta Communications Authority’s (MCA) commitment to develop a number of sector-specific initiatives aimed at promoting the effective use of online technologies, the Authority, in collaboration with the Malta Tourism Authority, is pleased to announce that it will be organising short information sessions on Internet Marketing. This will target entrepreneurs operating in the tourism and hospitality sector who want to obtain an overview of the business value of digital marketing and how it can help them influence the customers’ path to purchase. 

Participants will be introduced to the fundamentals of internet marketing, including online analytics, social media, customer reviews and online booking. These sessions will aim to:

-Assist operators become part of the digital tourism footprint;

-Empower operators to widen their reach to potential customers;
-Help operators understand how niche markets can be targeted through the effective use of digital tools;
-Help operators understand how and which digital tools work best for their individual business;
-Provide information about well-established tourism portals/platforms such as Trip Advisor, Booking.com, Travelocity, Expedia etc.
-Assist operators leverage on their marketing investments.

The development of these sessions and their delivery in the tourism sector relates to a specific tourism priority set in the National Tourism Policy (2015-2020) which lays out that the relationship and balance between the needs of an increasingly tech-savvy travelling population and the continued need for personalised customer service need to be adequately catered for in the hospitality offering during the years to come. Likewise, they also address the objectives set-out under the Digital Malta Strategy, which advocates ICT as the enabler for business to become more competitive and more export-oriented.

This training will be in the form of a one-time session and is being offered free of charge. 

A number of information sessions, targeting different categories within the Tourism and Hospitality sector, will be rolled out over a number of months. In order to ensure that participants achieve the highest benefit from this training, small groups will be maintained. 

Anyone interested in attending any of these information sessions should contact the Malta Tourism Authority on 22915122 or send an e-mail to training@visitmalta.com

View press release in Maltese