Emirates sponsors Travel Journalism award

Emirates, the Dubai-based international airline, is to sponsor a new category of Travel Journalism in this year's Malta Journalism Awards, organised by the Institute of Maltese Journalists (IGM). Apart from the category trophy and Lm150 in prize money, the winner of the travel journalism category will be offered two Emirates return business tickets to Dubai and three nights in a five-star hotel.

The Emirates initiative follows a substantial increase in travel coverage by the Maltese media and brings to eight the number of categories in this 14th edition of Malta's national journalistic competition. The awards finalists will be announced later this month and the winners will be presented in November.

Malcolm J. Naudi, chairman of the Institute of Maltese Journalists, said: "In recent years, an increasing number of Maltese have opted for at least one annual holiday abroad. Apart from visiting traditional destinations, mainly in England and Italy, the Maltese are becoming interested in other lesser known European countries, such as Slovenia, Croatia, and Poland.

"They are also venturing to other exotic destinations such as the Gulf countries - mainly Dubai - the Far East and Australia. Travel journalism in Malta is an important source of information and education both for leisure and business travellers.

"The IGM recognises the growing importance of this branch of journalism and has decided to support it by creating a dedicated travel category among our annual journalism awards. We are delighted that Emirates, one of the world's most innovative airlines, as well as one of the great business success stories of our time, has stepped forward to sponsor this new award and help it to become reality."

Emirates has been offering direct flights from Malta to Dubai for the past six years. It currently flies three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, using an Airbus A330-200.

With a destination network spanning 76 cities in 53 countries, Emirates' fleet of 67 aircraft is among the world's youngest, with another 90 aircraft worth US$26 billion on order for delivery up to 2012.

Paul Fleri Soler, Emirates' Malta district manager, said: "Dubai has become one of the Maltese travellers' favourite destinations. In the first two months of this year alone, nearly 900 Maltese passengers flew there for the Dubai Shopping Festival.

"Also, for an increasing number of Maltese, Dubai is becoming the favorite hub for destinations in the Indian sub-continent, Australasia and the Far East.

"The dedication of the Institute of Maltese Journalists to the continuous improvement in the standards of our national media is a worthy cause. Emirates is happy to support it and to make a contribution towards the highest possible quality in travel coverage by the Maltese media through our sponsorship of the new Travel Journalism category of the Journalism Awards."