In order to promote tourism to the Mediterranean island nation of Malta, VisitMalta has signed an agreement with English Premier League club Manchester United.

VisitMalta, in partnership with leading English Premier League football club Manchester United, has launched the first edition of the “Malta Day” promotional campaign. According to a press statement, the alliance between Manchester United and VisitMalta has benefited both parties as they successfully collaborated to develop a campaign that appeals to the target market.

The statement adds that the commercial campaign was recently released in conjunction with the Manchester United versus Brentford game at Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United. The VisitMalta brand has been extensively promoted through various marketing and promotional campaigns. The campaign featured two massive stadium-side banners, which prominently displayed the VisitMalta brand, capturing the attention of fans and visitors alike. In addition, numerous perimeter advertising banners were strategically placed around the stadium entrance to maximise exposure.

“Malta as an Official Destination Partner of Manchester United will result in Malta gaining visibility and marketing coordination at an unprecedented level, not only in Europe but also in other markets such as the Americas, Asia and the Middle East. This marketing takes place on television, digital media, and social media, reaching hundreds of millions of followers around the world. It is also helping to establish Malta as a centre of excellence for sports tourism, a tourism niche that is expected to continue to help revitalise the tourism sector in 2023,” said Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo.

The statement adds that to maximise its promotional reach, VisitMalta implemented marketing activations not just within Old Trafford but also in its immediate surroundings. Hotel Football displayed various rotating VisitMalta video adverts on two of its gigantic screens. To extend VisitMalta’s reach, promotional efforts have been extended beyond Old Trafford to Manchester city centre. This was achieved through the implementation of digital outdoor advertising on 40 high definition LCD screens at 20 different city centre locations on the Manchester Screens Network. This advertising campaign is expected to reach a total of 1 million pedestrians to promote Malta as a tourist destination.

“We are delighted with the success of the ‘Malta Day’ advertising campaign, where we have taken a 360° approach spanning DOOH, print, online and TV exposure. This has been a fantastic collaboration between Manchester United and VisitMalta. Our partnership has proven to be a winning combination and we are proud of the work we have done together to promote Malta as a travel

destination to Manchester United’s fanbase of over 1 billion fans worldwide,” says Chief Executive Officer of Malta Tourism Authority Carlo Micallef.

“Here we are at Old Trafford. Big match against Brentford sponsored by Visit Malta. I’ve just been to one of the Ambassador’s lounges and we have very good Maltese food and some Cisk lager because today is a Maltese day here. We’re going to enjoy it and hopefully the results will be fantastic for us because we have to win this game. Again, VisitMalta, thank you for supporting us,” says Manchester United legend Denis Irwin.