ITTN’s Jack Goddard was invited out by the Malta Tourism Authority to report on a recent FAM trip to the overwhelmingly stunning island of Malta. On the trip was Leanne Mulcahy of Limerick Travel, Michael Kelly of Keller Travel, Ceara Dhingra of Barters Travelnet, Criona Buggie of Travel Counsellors, Stuart Barber from Best4Travel, Laoise FitzPatrick of Fahy Travel and Macarena Munoz of Cassidy Travel.
Jack and the group were all set to fly out of Shannon Airport with Ryanair on the 19th of May 2022. On arrival, Jack and the group were greeted by Isabel Harrison, B2B Manager at Shannon Airport, where they were walked through security and brought to the lounge while they waited for their flight to depart. Jack and the group were also shown Shannon Airport’s sensory rooms which are essential for any children or adults who travel with autism, emotional and behavioral difficulties, sensory processing disorder, or other special needs.
On arrival at Malta airport, Jack and his group were met by Nick, an amazing and extremely knowledgeable tour guide provided to them by the MTA. Nick escorted the group to their hotel, the five-star Marriott Hotel in Malta while filling the guys in on a brief history of Malta.
At the hotel, the group was then introduced to Peter Green, Trade Trainer at MTA and Kristian Hauge, Leisure, Sales & E-Commerce Manager at the Marriott. The group then had a refresh in their stunning sea view rooms before meeting Peter and Kristian for a pre-meal drink at the reception.
For the evening, the group was treated to a fabulous tour and wine tasting at Ta’Betta Wine Estates, the Winery is located on the southern flank of the Estate enjoying views of the vineyard with the medieval town of Mdina as a backdrop.
A colourful array of egg-shaped concrete fermentation tanks imported from Sonoma in California stand tall as guests enter the main fermentation hall. Beautiful in their own right, the tanks have proven to be extremely practical and in line with the estate’s preferred medium for the fermentation of their reds. At the back of the winery, there are three barrel vaults built in limestone in the traditional style, typical of the architecture found in the guts of the bastions built by the Knights of Malta in Valletta. The barrel-vaults house barrique stacks where the reds are matured, and the whites fermented.
The group then concluded their evening with a beautiful sunset dinner at the winery and were served some classic Maltese food and wines joined by Peter, Kristian and Rosanna Sciberras, the Marketing Executive at MTA.
