The Valletta Summit and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held last month resulted in over 19,000 mentions of Malta in online and broadcast features, according to advertising agency by M&C Saatchi.
If the media exposure were to be quantified, it would reach the equivalent of €548.9 million in advertising costs.
An audit detailing the costs of organising the two summits in Malta is due to be presented to the Prime Minister in the New Year, but the government is estimating the figure to be between €10 and €12 million.
The government’s head of communications Kurt Farrugia said during a press briefing that a portion of the costs will continue benefiting the island, such as the security training and embellishment works.
The agency commissioned by the government to draw up the media value report looked at 275,000 news websites and 1,800 transcripts of TV and radio broadcasts.
The US-registered Associated Press was the organisation which published the most articles on the Valletta Summit. This was followed by the media from the UK, Malta, Canada, South Africa, China, India, Australia, Belgium and Ghana.
I’m not saying that everyone is suddenly going to book a holiday to Malta next year – but if just one million people heard of Malta, then that's money well spent
Euronews was the organisation which featured Malta the most on broadcast, followed by Rai News, BBC News 24, Radio Radicale, Sky News and E TV Rete 7.
“The issue of migration is very politically charged so it’s more likely that you're going to get a negative tint to the articles,” Aneil Bedi from M&C Saatchi explained.
“But that has nothing to do with Malta. The two summits – held in the space of a few days - establish Malta as the preeminent spot in Europe to organise events of such import.”
The fact that there were no security hitches helped raised Malta’s profile, he continued. One simply could not quantify the emotional value of having the royal family say how much they loved Malta during the CHOGM, he added.
CHOGM was mostly featured online by press registered in the UK, followed by the US, Australia, Canada, Malta, India, Nigeria, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
The top broadcast stations who featured Malta the most were ABC 24, CTV News Channel, BBC News 24, ABC News Radio and Nine Sydney.
“The events will give the tourism industry a boost and help businesses and conventions. I’m not saying that everyone is suddenly going to book a holiday to Malta next year – but if just one million people heard of Malta, then that's money well spent,” Mr Bedi said.
