Marketing Finland as a tourist destination in Malta

Abstract

This research aims to provide an overview of how Finland is marketed as a tourist destination in Malta, and whether Finland has potential to attract Maltese tourists and consequently, research whether there is a relationship between Malta and Finland. Desk research was carried out by comparing theories of destination marketing, branding and travel motivations. This was followed by semi-structured interviews with Maltese and Finnish travel agencies and with local citizens in Malta. The main findings indicate that Finland is not marketed as a tourist destination in Malta, the local citizens see Finland as a potential destination but do not travel to Finland, and the relationship between Malta and Finland is minimal or does not exist. The main implication of the research is that although, Finland would be marketed better and it would have a stronger brand image, the issue of accessibility needed to be solved, in order for Finland to become more attractive tourist destination for the Maltese market.