The following is a dispatch from Rob Cotter, a frequent One+ contributor, who is attending EIBTM in Barcelona, Spain.

Pensively observing the ancient town from the city turrets, the Maltese Falcon that has been its latent meetings industry has decided to swoop and attack its prey with the assistance of the sharpened talons of a newly launched Malta CVB.

“This is an exciting business; you are expected to provide solutions that can meet the requirements of smaller budgets, greater expectations, shorter planning times and tougher competition,” saidValérie Cabay, CEO for the newly launched CVB. “The MCVB will be able to assist in providing all the key elements that allow for a successful convention or large scale event through the use of its comprehensive website and its bidding system.”

With strong competition along the Mediterranean coastline—let alone the embarras de richesses of European heartland meetings destinations—the membership-funded CVB hopes to be able to tap the island’s tourism credentials such as its renowned climate, its several millennia of history, good accessibility to the island and a growing range of hotels that include conference facilities as a springboard for international marketing as an attractive large-scale event and convention destination. 

Time will tell how agile this bird can be.

—Rob Cotter