Fortina, Westin nominated as Europe's best

Mosta, 23/03/06 - The four star Hotel Fortina Spa Resort has been nominated as one of Europe’s leading spa resorts in the 2006 World Travel Awards. And the five star Westin Dragonara Resort, meantime, has been nominated one of Europe's leading casino hotels.

The winners of the 13th annual World Travel Awards will be revealed at a gala dinner on 20 September in the Turk & Caicos islands.

The World Travel Awards were established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate the achievements to be found in all sectors of the global travel industry. In the years since, new technology has ensured that travel has maintained its position as one of the fastest-growing industries on earth. Also during that time, dedicated travel professionals and their clients have come to regard the World Travel Awards as the best endorsement that any travel product could receive.

Candidates for nomination are based upon the previous year's voting. This is the world's most comprehensive travel awards ceremony, with trophies awarded in all areas of the industry. Voting is cast by travel agents in more than 200 countries around the world. Regional geographical categories are broken down from the Whole World category into eight smaller areas - Africa, Asia/Pacific, Caribbean, Central and Latin America, Europe, Middle East, North America and South America. These are then further divided into all areas of the travel industry. Additional worldwide awards covering specific markets, such as world's leading sports resort, world's leading private island, to name but two, broaden the scope of the voting.

Hundreds and thousands of votes each year are registered online at the official World Travel Awards website, with most of the leading travel internet sites offering additional online voting facilities.

MHRA sends execs in search of Leonardo code

Sliema, 23/03/06 - A group of 10 executives from various hotels have left on a field programme in Germany: the second such programme funded through the Leonardo Mobility Programme. This was again done in collaboration with the Malta Tourism Authority and Leonardo da Vinci National Agency.

In the first programme 10 hotel and restaurant executives went to Ireland at the end of October 2005.

The five-day programme in Munich, will give participants the opportunity to experience operational practices overseas and participate in field talks and activities to enhance and develop their skills towards quality tourism. They will stay in four different hotels and will be invited to see the operations within these hotels to assess how each establishment aims for quality in service, operational control procedures, customer care, manning levels, sales and marketing and human resources and training.

The third mobility programme is earmarked for November where again 10 applicants will be shortlist after a call of interest from hotel and restaurant employees.  The group will be heading to Spain where a five day programme will be planned for the participants with visits to hotels, meeting with local associations and attending workshops on common subjects. 

The participants in this second field visit are: Thomas Rieger of the hostel Sprachcaffe Club Village; Ivan Borg of the Dolmen Resort Hotel; David Vella of the InterContinental Malta; Paul Cassar of 115 The Strand Aparthotel; Mario Iavarone of the Radisson SAS Bay Point Resort; Mario Azzopardi of the Hotel Castille; Vincent Curmi of the Barceló Riviera Resort; Joseph Gatt of the Topaz Hotel; Jane Mercieca of the Victoria Hotel and Adrian Spiteri from the Carolina Hotel.

Second gastronomic calendar launched

Mosta, 13/03/06 - Building on the success of its first Gastronomic Calendar for Malta and Gozo, The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants has launched its calendar of events for spring.

Events comprise an array of gourmet dinners, each created specifically for the Calendar, at five of the top-rated restaurants on the islands as voted for by readers of the Guide.

The diary for March through May includes menus based on seafood, on wine, and on the very best of French and Thai cuisine.

The exhilarating flavours of the Chiang Mai region of north Thailand will be presented on Friday, 17 March at the Blue Elephant at the Malta Hilton. Annoup, the restaurant's award-winning chef will fashion a four-course menu augmented by Thai wines to a background of authentic local music. Guests will also be entertained by an intriguing exhibition of fruit-carving.

Chef-patron Patrick Buttigieg, whose extensive wine list has twice been voted "best overall" by readers of The Definitively Good Guide to Restaurants, has created a wine-based menu degustazione (tasting menu) designed to show how his two-year-old restaurant, It-Tmun in Victoria, deservedly merited being voted joint-second best in Malta and Gozo. Buttigieg will describe and explain the choice of wine  selected to enhance each course at a gourmet evening on Thursday, 30 March.

The menu at the popular Tigné Brasserie in the Fortina Spa Resort on Saturday, 13 May will be based on the very best of French and Mediterranean cuisine. The special price for this evening, only Lm14 a head, will include French wines.

The final Calendar event of the season - at the De Mondion in the Xara Palace Relais & Chateaux- will be a week-long festival of seafood delights, running from 22 to 27 May. Executive chef Kevin Bonello is preparing a four-course concoction of European and Oriental dishes in his rooftop restaurant which has stunning views of the island from the mediaeval walled city of Mdina. A range of wines will complement the meal.

Copies of the Calendar, which is sponsored by the MTA and supported by the MHRA and Air Malta are available from tourism information offices and at five star hotels and top restaurants throughout the islands. Fuller details are available on the Guide's website, www.restaurantsmalta.com.

New F&B manager at Kempinski San Lawrenz

San Lawrenz, 13/03/06 - Dirk Reinhardt has joined the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz team as food and beverage manager.

Reinhardt started his career in the hotel industry in 1997 when he was responsible for a number of banqueting facilities at the Astron Resort in Germany.

In 1999 he joined the Kempinski Hotels and after a five-year period at the Kempinski Hotel Airport Munich he was promoted and transferred to the Kempinski Hotel Julia in Kuwait, before his appointment in Gozo.

New revenue manager at InterContinental Malta

St Julian's, 13/03/06 - Christopher Gingell Littlejohn, 30, has been appointed revenue manager at the InterContinental Malta.

Having graduated in political science at the University of Malta, Gingell Littlejohn joined the tourism industry in 1998 when he worked for a local destination management company for two years. He joined the Crowne Plaza Malta's sales team in 2000 and upon his departure occupied the post of acting director of sales and marketing.  At the end of 2005 he joined the InterContinental Malta as revenue manager where he is mainly responsible for revenue maximization for the hotel.

MTA leaders attend 'powerful sales' seminar

Valletta, 13/03/06 - The recently appointed segment heads at the Malta Tourism Authority have just concluded a "highly-charged and intensive" personal training programme held over three days.

The seminar, titled Powerful Sales Force Using Neuro-Linguistic Programming "forms an integral part of the MTA's marketing efforts, especially with regards to focusing on the need to promote Malta with a specialised approach".

The participants reacted very positively to the sessions and contributed fully to the training, conducted by Larissa Redaelli of New Training Dynamics. Redaelli said the sessions were very successful and dealt with a wide range of topics, such as: strategic selling, thinking management, language use and behavioural management. She also added that the training focused on mind-body connections as well as on nutrition and physical exercise, amongst others.

The next step will be in eight weeks' time, when an workshop will be held, during which the participants will be asked to discuss an action plan they have developed following the seminar. In this action plan they have to put into practice the techniques and methodology acquired during the training sessions.

MTA executive chairman Romwald Lungaro-Mifsud closed the seminar when he addressed the participants. He said this type of personal development training is crucial for the MTA to keep abreast of developments in the industry as well as to ensure that the authority's greatest assets, its human resources, are always kept motivated.

MHRA gives restaurants more zing

Sliema, 13/03/06 - James Perry Zammit has been nominated chairman of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association's restaurant committee while Josef Formosa Gauci was named vice-chairman. 

Perry Zammit is managing director of 1743 Ir-Razzett l-Antik restaurant while Josef Formosa Gauci works at Food Chain (Holdings) Ltd.

Restaurateurs sitting on the council have been given regional responsibility with Walter Cassar of Barracuda Restaurant, Nicky Pillow of Lulu Restaurant and Anthony Gatt of Peppino's responsible for Sliema/St Julian's members.

Tony Dowling of Nostalgia, Charles Giordimana of All Saints Restaurant, Charles Sultana of Da Rosita Restaurant are responsible for Bugibba area members.

Anthony Curmi of Costa del sole, Joseph Bartolo of Half Way Inn for Mellieha area members and Jon Jon Dalli of Hunter's Tower and Carmel Bianco of Ta Grabiel Restaurant responsible for Marsaxlokk and Marsascala respectively.

Raymond Borg of Ghonnella Restaurant in St Julian's has been assigned to set up a training and staff development programme for those that would like to make a career in catering. Cassar of Barracuda has been invited to sit as a trustee of a bursary for wine tuition by the Mediterranean Campus of the European Wine Academy. 

During the committee's first meeting it was agreed that regional meetings will be held by the respective committee members for MHRA restaurants members to address problems pertaining to their particular areas.   Members will be encouraged to contact their respective representatives on the committee for quick reaction to any developments that could have a negative effect on their business.

FTI and associates hold Malta seminar

Mosta, 13/03/06 - German tour operator FTI chose Malta for a workshop intended to further strengthen the company's identity and streamline the operational link between the various destinations sold.

Attending the intensive workshop, together with representatives from associate local organisations FTI Services Malta and Finserv, were 16 of Munich-based FTI, 5vFlug and Big X-tra Germany product managers responsible for operations and product development.