ABTA is delighted to announce that Malta has been chosen as the venue for the 2010 Travel Convention, which will take place from Monday 18 – Wednesday 20 October 2010.

This is the first time ABTA’s annual Convention will take place in Malta. Mark Tanzer, ABTA’s Chief Executive said: “I am delighted that Malta will be hosting the 2010 Travel Convention. It is a vibrant and developing destination for UK travellers and The Travel Convention will give our Members a great opportunity to acquaint, or re-acquaint themselves with all that it has to offer. ABTA is extremely grateful to the Parliamentary Secretariat for Tourism, the Malta Tourism Authority and Air Malta for offering to support the Convention and we look forward to a very exciting and successful event."

The Convention will take place at the Hilton Malta Conference Centre which is attached to the Hilton Malta Hotel at Portomaso St Julians.  Located on the fashionable Portomaso waterfront, the hotel is just 15 minutes’ drive from Valletta and just 30 minutes’ drive from the airport. 

Alex Incorvaja, Malta Tourism Authority Director for UK & Ireland said: "We are absolutely delighted that ABTA has decided to come to Malta for its annual Convention in 2010. Malta relies heavily on the travel trade to represent its best interests and to promote the destination in-market, so it is fantastic news that we will be able to showcase our Islands to so many key industry figures and opinion leaders.

Our support, together with that of our national airline, Air Malta, gives us an excellent platform to raise awareness of Malta’s diverse offerings. The UK is Malta’s foremost market in so far as tourist arrivals are concerned and thus hosting The Travel Convention gives us the perfect opportunity to highlight the unique proposition the Maltese Islands have to offer. We look forward to welcoming delegates from all sectors of the travel industry in October.”

Special rates for delegates will be offered by the five star Hilton Malta, the Westin Dragonara Resort, the InterContinental Malta and the four star Vivaldi Hotel with bed & breakfast rates from €45 per person, per night in a twin occupancy room.

Air Malta will also offer delegates a fixed fare of £100 return plus taxes for bookings placed prior to 31 March and £125 return plus taxes for bookings made prior to 31 May.  Thereafter a 25% discount will be available on the published fares.

Details of how to register for The Travel Convention and book accommodation and flights will be released by The Travel Convention office over the coming weeks.