Troy exploited

A public relations campaign initiated by the Malta Tourism Authority's Milan office has led to several Italian magazines running prominent features about movies shot in Malta.

An eight-page article in the magazine Bell' Europa focused on the locations in Malta and Gozo where parts of Troy, The Count of Monte Cristo, Swept Away and A Different Loyalty were filmed.

The magazine Touring Junior also carried an article entitled Malta - dove l'Antichità incontra il Cinema (Malta - where history meets the cinema), which listed information on a number of films shot in the Maltese islands.

Two screenings of the film Troy were held for over 500 Spanish travel agents in Madrid and Barcelona. Malta also featured in a 12-page article written by Carlos Pascual in the Spanish National Geographic magazine Viajes.

Malta is being promoted in Spain as a cultural destination while Gozo is being promoted as the ideal diving destination. Two Spanish TV crews will soon be visiting Gozo as guests of the MTA, with the support of Air Malta, in order to shoot documentaries about underwater diving. English language courses in Malta have also proved to be very popular with a considerable number of Spanish students expected to attend language courses in Malta this summer.

Besides the three Air Malta direct flights from Madrid and two from Barcelona, two Spanish tour operators, Iberojet and Travelplan, will soon be operating four charter flights a week to Malta (two from Madrid and two from Barcelona).

The Italian magazine Touring Junior which featured an article about the filming of Troy in Malta.