Destinations interested in appealing to the youth travel market are advised to attend a session at WTM London which highlights how the Isle of MTV Malta has boosted the Mediterranean island’s tourism industry.

 

Russel Samuel, Vice President, Creative and Integrated Marketing at Viacom Velocity International, and Minister Konrad Mizzi, Malta’s Minister for Tourism, will talk through the data points and share examples of best practice that other destinations can consider.

 

Topics such as hosting a live event in an historic location, city branding, partnerships and working with local authorities will be discussed.

 

Malta expanded its partnership with Viacom with the Nickelodeon Treasure Hunt Malta this April. Events included searching for SpongeBob SquarePants at the National Aquarium and joining the pizza-loving Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at Is-Suq Tal-Belt food market.

 

The session – How the Power of Live Entertainment Can Put a Country on the Youth Travel Map –  is moderated by Becca Dudley, known for her time as MTV’s lead presenter, Glastonbury DJ sets and shows on Apple Music’s international station Beats 1. She is also an ambassador for MTV’s AIDS charity, Staying Alive.

 

Laura Hamilton, a presenter for Channel 4’s ‘A Place in the Sun’ show will also contribute.

 

WTM London Senior Exhibition Director Simon Press said: “There’s a lot of talk around Gen Z, experiential tourism and youth travel in general. The MTV partnership has opened up Malta to that segment and the stats prove this.

 

“WTM is all about sharing actionable insights to help travel businesses and destinations grow, find new markets and form new partnerships. This session represents what we want to achieve.”

 

The hour-long session takes place on Wednesday 6th Nov 2019, starting at 13:15.

 

As a taster for the session, Russell Samuel took part in the latest WTM Insights Podcast, talking about how pop culture in general is driving tourism.

 

To listen to the podcast and for links to download the episode via Spotify or iTunes, visit news.wtm.com/how-is-pop-culture-driving-tourism