United Travel Malta

First of all a Happy New Year to all reading this! We've been a little bit busy lately, and the Christmas Season didn't help us very much, so we feel very ashamed to say that we neglected our blog for a couple of months... However, we've made a new year’s resolution to avoid using the "we've been busy" excuse and try to keep it up to date as much as possible. Since it's Winter, and the beaches in Malta aren't really what families with kids are dreaming of right now, we decided to put together a list of things that families can do when visiting Malta. The list is never ending, so we chose a few of our favourite activities... THE MALTA NATIONAL AQUARIUM The Malta National Aquarium is one of the leading visitor attractions in Malta. Located in one of Malta’s most picturesque promenades, the aquarium is home to an array of over a hundred different species of fish including sharks, rays, seahorses and eels, spread over approximately 20,000 s...

The winter season started with a bang for us at United Travel as we’ve been very busy travelling around the world hosting meeting forums and attending Trade Fairs. Our first trip came in mid-October, when I flew to Tenerife to help the Questex-McLean Events team with the onsite operations of HOTEC EU. This was the 16 th edition of the event that brings together leading hotel purchasing, operations and technical directors, as well as interior and architectural designers to meet with the key leading domestic and international suppliers to participate in a series of one-on-one meetings over two dedicated business days. The chosen destination for this event was the beautiful Ritz Carlton Abama Resort in Tenerife, and the beautiful warm weather really helped in making sure everyone had an event to remember. The event started with a Welcome Dinner by the pool, and after the first day of meetings, everyone was treated to a sunset dinner at the resort’s own beach club! Next up Iain ...

As 2014 comes to an end, the lists of bests start to take shape. The travel industry is no exception and Lonely Planet, everyone's favourite travel guide publisher, has just published a list of what they deem to be the best 10 Cities to visit in 2015. According to them, the best city in the world to visit is Washington DC, and at number 10 is Toronto. Right in the middle of the list, coming in at number 5 is Malta's very own capital city, Valletta. Considering the that two of the world's biggest capital cities start and finish the list, I think this is a big feat in itself. Thanks to Lonely Planet's list, we were today also reminded that Valletta will next year celebrate it's 450th anniversary!  According to Lonely Planet's digital editorial director, making this list is "the one time each year that Lonely Planet applies it's collective brainpower to pick recommendations and rank their recommendations." In order to make the list, the chosen ci...

So last weekend we had our very first storm of the season, it was very well needed after a long dry summer, but our little island is not well equipped for this time of weather. I like to say that in Malta we only have two kinds of rainy weather - either no rain at all, or else torrential rain that will last for a couple of hours or so before clearing up and allowing the sun to shine down. In that respect I guess we're very lucky not to have the constant drizzle, and cold weather like in the UK. So, what do you do when you visit an island that is normally sunny and boasts a minimum of 300 days, and you are unlucky enough to experience a rainy, stormy day? Here are a few ideas of things you can do... 1. Visit St. John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta This cathedral is the our chosen must-see site when visiting Malta. We estimate that a walking tour around the cathedral should take around one hour, however if you are one that loves art and history you might even end up staying...

The Arabian Fortress Today I am back at the office after a short time in Dubai where we were supporting the Questex-McLean Events European team with the on-site operations of the very first SPATEC Middle East! This event brings together buyers and suppliers from the Spa industry in the Middle East and beyond together for two days of one-to-one meetings and other networking activities to make sure that everyone gets the most out of their stay. Despite the hot and extremely humid weather in Dubai, we had a nice welcome dinner at the beach bar between the two hotels – Le Meridien and Westin – that make up the Mina Seyahi Complex. The venue was beautifully set-up and ideal for a relaxed welcome dinner. After a day of meetings, we treated the delegates to a lovely dinner at an Arabian fortress in the middle of the desert! This Arabian themed dinner came with belly dancers, Arabian musicians, and even a laser juggler that had the SPATEC logo projected out of his juggling batons. Th...

Picture credits go to Royalista.com From one celebrity to another, Malta is really enjoying being in the media spotlight recently! As some of you may know, yesterday (21 st September) Malta celebrated 50 years of independence. Since Malta was a British colony up until we gained independence, and is still a member of the commonwealth till today, we were treated to a special visit from Prince William himself who came instead of his wife after she had to cancel due to severe morning sickness. The prince was in Malta for a day and a half of jam packed activities and site-seeing. It was his first visit to Malta so he really had a lot to see and do. Amongst the sites he visited was St. John’s Co-Cathedral – one of the must see sites when visiting the little island we love to call home. He also took a short harbour cruise on board a traditional Maltese boat, where he was able to take in the beauty of the Grand Harbour from the sea. So what’s next for Malta? Well ...

The Maltese Islands are currently going through the effect of having more than one celebrity spending time on our little island… currently we are going through what the tabloids are calling “The Brangelina Effect”. As anyone who has access to social media, or the internet in general knows, a couple of weeks ago everyone’s favourite couple – Brad Pitt and Angeline Jolie – got married in their estate in Correns, France. Lucky for Malta and especially for Gozo, Brangelina were booked in to film their latest production entitled “By The Sea” in Gozo for the next three months… So guess where this power couple are spending their working honeymoon? Yes, that’s right in the lovely island of Gozo! Aren’t we a lucky bunch? Brad Pitt and his family are no strangers to Malta, he was here filming Troy in 2003, and more recently filming World War Z. This time however, he chose the smaller, more rustic island of Gozo to base his film. This would be the first time that this duo are starring in a ...