Archives for January 2023

Malta, a Mediterranean archipelago, boasts over 300 days of sunshine a year and a remarkable history that dates back to over 7,000 years.

The islands of Malta will be the 2023 hot spot for a diverse range of concerts and festivals and an excellent opportunity to enjoy Malta’s history through music, arts, and culture. Malta’s jam- packed year-long event schedule has something for everyone and will also provide an opportunity for visitors to explore the three sister islands, Malta, Gozo, and Comino. 

Carnival in Malta (Il-Karnival ta’ Malta) – February 17 – 21, 2023

The Il-Karnival ta’ Malta is an annual festival celebrated on Malta’s three sister islands. The five-day event highlights the culture and religious events that date back over five centuries, and is jam packed with activities from morning to night. The festivities include parades on the streets, night parties, magical costumes and live concerts throughout the islands. Il-Karnival spirit in Malta is a memorable experience for visitors, one not to be missed. 

Carne Vale Il Gran Ballo In Maschera – February 18, 2023

Carne Vale, il Gran Ballo in Maschera is a show that is a celebration of art, culture, seduction, and beauty. Drawing inspiration from Dante’s epic poetry, participants will be seduced by many wonders as they peruse highly stylized renditions of Dante’s Purgatorio, Paradiso and Inferno. While guests immerse themselves into a magical world of harlequin and minstrel dancers, acrobats, and musicians, a seated four course lavish dinner is served, with an open bar, and a dress code of Historical or Period costume and mask. The venue itself is the sixteenth century Sacra Infermeria, known today as the historic Mediterranean Conference Center, located across Valletta’s magnificent Grand Harbour. 

MUZIKA MUZIKA – March 23 – 25, 2023

Festival Kanzunetta Maltija is a prestigious festival produced by Festivals Malta that brings together different genres of Maltese music in an annual competition. During the Semifinals, there are 2o contestants competing against each other.

The semifinalists include: CODA, Micallef Costa, Michela Galea, Justine Shorfid, Jason Scerri, Josef and Victoria, MARA, Drakard/Lisa Gauci, Martina Borg, Jasmine, KWINTI, Petra, Raquel, Kelsey Bellante, Jade Vella, Gianluca Bezzina, Miriam Christine Borg, Enya Magri ft. Adrian, Julie Pomorski u Kapitlu Tlettax, Avenue Sky. The event will be held at the reputable MFCC – Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre, Ta’ Qali, Malta.

Easter Celebration – April 7 – 16, 2023

The Easter Week in Malta, celebrated throughout the three islands of Malta, encompasses the somberness of Good Friday to the Jubilant Easter celebrations. The highlights of Easter week include the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, known as Id-Duluri; Palm Sunday; Maundy Thursday. Maltese and visitors can view the many holy exhibits throughout Malta; Good Friday observed in all the churches; and culminating in Easter Sunday celebrations across Malta and Gozo. 

Ritmu Festival – June 9 & 10, 2023

The Ritmu festival, held at the Upper Barrakka Gardens, in Valletta, can be described as a Mediterranean folk festival bringing together both local and international artists. 

Malta International Arts Festival – June 16 – July 2, 2023

A 15-day festival, the Malta International Arts Festival in Valletta, presents a multidisciplinary arts program embracing music, visual arts, theater, dance, opera, installations, films, community projects, and interactive and participatory events that explore and build upon cultural heritage. Drawing local and international audiences during the height of the Maltese summer, the festival revels in Malta’s unique historical and geographical setting by featuring site-specific productions with performances staged at such distinctive locations such as Neolithic temple sites, sites with Baroque architecture and of course the views of Valletta’s stunning Grand Harbour.               

Malta Jazz Festival – July 10 – 15, 2023

Considered by the international jazz community as a ‘true’ jazz festival and a beacon of artistic integrity, the Malta Jazz Festival presents a panorama of jazz music in all its facets. This  Jazz Festival stands out as an event that achieves a perfect balance between the savant and more popular elements of jazz.

Dance Festival Malta – July 27 – 30, 2023

Dance Festival Malta is a multi-disciplinary festival that strives to cultivate a dance environment  in Malta. The festival will host a series of workshops, masterclasses, and performances that welcomes international and local artists and choreographers. This unique festival will allow attendees to immerse themselves in the dance culture of Malta. The deadline to submit choreo to perform at the Dance Festival Malta is February 15, 2023.

EuroPride Valletta 2023 – September 7 – 17, 2023

EuroPride Valletta 2023 will be held in Valletta, Malta, September 7 – 17, 2023. Valletta is the perfect destination for EuroPride 2023 as its location is situated between Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, giving members of the EMENA (European, Middle East & North Africa) LGBTQ+ community the opportunity to gather and celebrate in a safe environment where people are free to be themselves. Occupying the top spot on the Europe Rainbow Index for seven consecutive years, Malta, has also been awarded an outstanding 92% in recognition of the laws, policies, and lifestyles of the LGBTQ+ community out of a total of 49 European Countries. Guests from abroad will find plenty of gay-friendly restaurants, events, cafes, pubs, nightclubs, and boutiques to visit, ensuring all LGBTQ+ travelers will have an amazing time.

Notte Bianca – October 7, 2023

Notte Bianca is one of Malta’s biggest annual arts and culture festivals. For one special night, every first Saturday of October, the Valletta cityscape lights up with a spectacular celebration of the arts, open to the public free of charge. Local museums, piazzas, state palaces, and churches transform their property into venues to hold live performances and concerts, while other restaurants and cafés extend their hours to serve the festival celebrants. 

The Three Palaces Early Opera & Music Festival – November 2023

The 10-day Three Palaces Festival, which always happens within the first two weeks of November, focuses on the premise that “our ordinary is actually extraordinary” which comes from the fact that in Malta there are many magnificent buildings that locals and visitors alike pass by every day and barely notice their beauty. The festival showcases emerging talented musicians to perform alongside the finest established artists in Malta, with performances taking place at some of Valletta’s most historic locations.

About Malta

The sunny islands of Malta, in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, are home to a most remarkable concentration of intact built heritage, including the highest density of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in any nation-state anywhere. Valletta, built by the proud Knights of St. John, is one of the UNESCO sites and the European Capital of Culture for 2018. Malta’s patrimony in stone ranges from the oldest free-standing stone architecture in the world, to one of the British Empire’s most formidable defensive systems, and includes a rich mix of domestic, religious and military architecture from the ancient, medieval and early modern periods. With superbly sunny weather, attractive beaches, a thriving nightlife and 7,000 years of intriguing history, there is a great deal to see and do. 

SEEN IN MAIN IMAGE:  Malta Jazz Festival – image courtesy of Malta Tourism Authority

For more information on Malta, click here.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Malta Tourism Authority – North America 

Michelle Buttigieg

Tel:      (212) 213-0944

Fax:     (212) 213-0938

E-mail: [email protected]

MTA U.S./Canada Editorial Contact:

The Bradford Group

Jillian Sliwinski/Amanda Marconi

Tel:      (212) 447-0027 E-mail: [email protected]

The Tourism Seychelles team brought sunny Seychelles to the Nordic market at the MATKA Nordic Travel Fair held in Helsinki, Finland.

The event was held at the Messukeskus Expo and Convention Centre from Thursday, January 19, to Sunday, January 22, 2023. 

Known to be the largest travel fair in Northern Europe, the MATKA Nordic Travel Fair is the ideal platform to meet and interact with the Nordic and Baltic tourism trade. For 2023, the fair recorded over 53,000 visitors during the four days, which includes professionals and exhibitors. 

The event is both a meeting point for different tourism entities to network with other professionals in the sector and presents opportunities to showcase new products and services to an enthusiastic audience of active travelers. 

The Seychelles delegation comprised the Tourism Seychelles Team, the Director for Nordics, Ms. Karen Confait, and Marketing Executive, Mrs. Ingrid Asante, who both inspired and enticed visitors and partners to get to know the Seychelles Islands. 

“It was great to be back after two years.”

“We could feel the enthusiasm now that business is back and people are eager to travel again,” highlighted the Tourism Marketing Director for the UK & Ireland and Nordics, Ms. Karen Confait, talking about Seychelles’ participation at Matka 2023.

“Matka has always been an important fair in the Nordics market, a key platform where we build and maintain our relationship with the trade and ensure maximum destination visibility. Our presence this year was necessary to ensure that Seychelles is back in the minds of the consumers when choosing their next holiday destination,” said Ms. Confait.

Seychelles lies northeast of Madagascar and is an archipelago of 115 islands with roughly 98,000 citizens. Seychelles is a melting pot of many cultures which have commingled and coexisted since the first settlement of the islands in 1770. The three main inhabited islands are Mahé, Praslin and La Digue and the official languages are English, French and Seychellois Creole.

MEDIA CONTACT: Tourism Seychelles, [email protected]

Now that the world has resumed travel, people are seeking authentic holidays when making decisions about their vacation plans.

At Sandals Resorts, guests have the opportunity to discover the real Caribbean and all without any worries or cares in a truly all-inclusive environment. No need to worry about tips, meals, or drinks, to say the least, because with Sandals, everything is taken care of the moment guests arrive.

Golf beside turquoise waters

Enjoy world-class golf in Great Exuma at the award-winning Sandals Emerald Bay Golf Course, an 18-hole ocean-side course that hugs the coastline of a scenic peninsula. Designed by golf legend Greg Norman, the award-winning Sandals Emerald Bay Golf Course is recognized as one of the most scenic 18-hole ocean-side golf courses in the Caribbean and renowned for its challenging fairways. A golfer’s paradise, 6 signature holes hug the coastline where prevailing trade winds promise new experiences with each game.

Located at the Bahamas’ leading golf resort, this award-winning golf course preserves the landscape’s pristine beauty and natural barriers. As the longest course in the Caribbean, winding through seaside dunes, this par 72 championship course is consistently regarded as one of the best in the Caribbean by Travel + Leisure Golf.

Scuba dive in Grenada

Grenada is home to some of the best dive spots in the world, including many shipwrecks, vibrant reefs, diverse sea life, and an underwater sculpture park. The world’s leading scuba diver training organization, PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors), ranks Sandals in the “Top 5 Operations In the Western Hemisphere.”

Every Sandals resort offers access to a selection of spectacular dive spots featuring vivid marine life, thriving coral reefs, and whole range of exciting and unique undersea sights — all beneath the calmest clearest waters imaginable. Sandals guests have access to over 240 different dive sites and up to as many as 30 per resort with up to 6 different dive excursions per day. A wide selection of specialist dive experiences includes wall and wreck dives.

At St. George’s in Grenada, there are 24 dives sites with names sure to entice everyone from the novice scuba diver to the advance:  Kohani, The Japanese Gardens, Veronica L, Flamingo Bay, Northern Exposure, The Quarter Wreck, Boss reef, Molinere/Sculpture Park, Shark Reef, Dragon Bay, Purple Rain, Whibbles Reef, San Juan, Grand Mal Wall, Face of the Devil, Frigate Rock, Isla de Rhonde, Shak ‘Em, Happy Valley, King Mitch, Windmill Shallows, The Sisters, Hema I, and Bianca C.

Drive your own adventure

Guests staying in Sandals Royal Curacao’s Kurason Island Suites and Awa Seaside Bungalows can explore the colorful island of Curacao in a stylish and sporty MINI Cooper as part of their vacation. Nestled in the heart of the Leeward Antilles on the coast of a tiny beautiful island, here, natural and cultural wonders connect to create a beautiful mélange unseen anywhere else. Sandals’ newest all-inclusive resort in Curaçao is where the natural romance of this intimate island comes alive. This can be seen in the line where the desert landscape gently slopes into the azure ocean. Waters invite guests to dive in and explore what’s beneath or simply experience it in the way the expansive pool extends into the endless Spanish Water. In the place where Tafelberg Mountain meets the horizon, inspiring peaks beckon guests to climb to new heights, absorb stunning sunsets, and witness how the wind catches a sail, propelling adventures yet to come.

MEDIA CONTACT: 1-888-SANDALS, [email protected]

Tourism Seychelles started the year on a high note in the city of Madrid, Spain, for the 5-day International Tourism Trade Fair, FITUR 2023.

Seychelles was represented by a delegation composed of the Tourism Seychelles Team and members of the trade partners at Feria de Madrid from January 18 to 22.

Director General for Destination Marketing Mrs. Bernadette Willemin was leading the Tourism Seychelles team, which consisted of the Marketing Executive for the Spain and Portugal market, Ms. Monica Gonzalez Llinas and Ms. Jessica Giroux, a representative from Anantara Maia Seychelles, who were actively marketing the Seychelles Island as a destination at the Stand 6G12.

FITUR is a meeting point for tourism professionals from around the globe and is considered to be the leading trade fair for inbound and outbound Ibero-American markets.

The importance of the travel and trade show is reflected in the growing number of exhibiting companies from participating countries, trade participants, the general public and journalists recorded each year.

Speaking after the event, the Director General for Destination Marketing, Mrs. Willemin, stated that the Iberian market fits well with Seychelles’ tourism development policy, which aims for quality versus quantity, as visitors from the region are known to be very jovial people and good spenders.

“The current outlook for the Spanish market, in particular, looks positive.”

“And should this trend continue, it will help in further developing our business together with the support of Seychelles trade partners, which will hopefully keep growing the confidence of the Iberian travel operators and agents to continue selling the destination and increase the Iberian sales figures,” said Mrs. Willemin

It was a busy five days for the Seychelles team – the first three days were dedicated to meetings with travel trade professionals and media.

On Saturday and Sunday, the island nation’s stand was transformed into a business-to-consumer platform to welcome the general public. This provided the perfect opportunity to boost their knowledge of the destination and entice them to visit Seychelles. The Seychelles team was also at hand to respond to their inquiries.

The Iberian Peninsula – a peninsula in south-western Europe occupied by Spain and Portugal, had in the past produced good business for Seychelles and has the potential to do more.

In 2022, there were 6473 visitors to Seychelles from the Iberian market, with Spain contributing the lion’s share of the business.

MEDIA CONTACT: Tourism Seychelles, [email protected]   

Between renowned Carnivale festival and Valentine’s Day, the most exciting romantic time of the year in Venice, Italy, is officially here.

In celebration of these holidays, The St. Regis Venice will have an extraordinary experience available to patrons – a special master class at the Arts Bar by Giacomo Giannotti, owner and founder of the #1 best bars in the world, by The World’s 50 Best Bars 2022, Paradiso in Barcelona.

On February 17, patrons can celebrate Carnivale festival 2023 – or opt for a unique Valentine’s Day experience – and attend the master class, in which bartender, Giacomo Giannotti will show guests how to construct some of the most inventive, impressive cocktails from 2:00-4:00 pm. Giacomo will also be the guest bartender at the Arts Bar that night as well, serving up unique cocktails in addition to his own concoctions. With Giacomo’s Italian roots and the Arts Bar of similar caliber to his incredible creative work, this collaboration is sure to be an unforgettable experience.

From February 4–February 21, the most romantic city is even more enchanting to behold.

In addition to the class, couples will enjoy an amorous, dreamy weekend at The St. Regis Venice – the best address in the city. Located just off the iconic Grand Canal, couples and their wedding guests can take on the city by foot to discover nearby art galleries, Teatro La Fenice, the treasures of Piazza San Marco, and much more.  

The Masquerade Suite is the perfect room to book. It is A Vanguard Celebration of the Venetian Legacy. Characterized by a generous and separate living area, and a size of 67-square-metres, the Masquerade Suite is eclectic in both style, layout and design and is truly unique amongst the collection of Suites at The St. Regis Venice. Bi-level, the Masquerade Suite’s design is a playful and forward-looking interpretation of Venetian theatrical and Carnival legacy.

Adding drama and fun to this suite is a curated selection of framed masks, fashion illustrations and refined accessories that call out the city’s cultural calendar.  East-facing windows present views over the adjacent Palazzo Treves and Corte Barozzi, and, to ensure your stay is exquisite, the anticipatory service of the St. Regis Butlers is on call 24-hours.

MEDIA CONTACT:  Hwee Peng Yeo, Executive VP, Glodow Nead Communications, US: 415-394-6500, [email protected]