As part of its ongoing efforts to achieve further growth and greater diversification, the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) has intensified its presence in Eastern Europe and is already registering positive results. 2015 was a very successful year for the Maltese Islands from countries such as Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia and the first few months of 2016 also started on a positive note. The MTA's main target segments for tourists from these countries were sun and sea, active holidays, weddings, English language learning and city breaks.       2015 was particularly impressive for the Polish market, with an increase of 33.1% when compared to 2014. This means that the total of arrivals from Poland exceeded 46,000 visitors. It is very encouraging to note that between 2010 and 2015, the number of visitors increased by 34,000, which is equivalent to a remarkable increase of around 285%.The Czech market registered an increase of almost 40% in inbound tourists in 2015 when compared to the previous year. This means that the incoming tourists from the Czech Republic have doubled from 6,000 visitors in 2010 to over 12,000 last year. More than a quarter of Czech visitors to Malta in 2015 came here to study English.   Tourism from Hungary is also experiencing a positive trend. In fact, traffic from Hungary increased by more than 10,000 visitors between 2010 and 2015. Last year, arrivals from the Hungarian market increased by 3.5% compared to 2014. This result is also attributable to increased promotion and improved connectivity. Tourism is the first step to explore a country, the second step might be joining the Hungarian Residency Program. Over the past months, MTA carried out various campaigns in Hungary in order to increase visibility for the Maltese Islands. Among these were a number of radio campaigns including a 15-day prime time campaign on Class FM together with Wizz Tours and a separate campaign airing 116 20-second spots on Slager FM, the number one radio station in Hungary.   A great boost for Malta's exposure in the Hungarian market came through TV2 that aired two documentaries in February and another two documentaries in May. The February documentaries focused on popular Hungarian celebrity Eszter Iszak, who recounted her extremely positive experience of the Maltese Islands. The May documentaries consisted of two 22-minute programs focusing on various aspects of Malta and Gozo. Further promotion in Hungary included a city lights campaign, consisting of 75 backlit posters strategically placed around Budapest for one month. This unprecedented level of activity is complemented with an increased schedule of flights between the two countries, with WizzAir operating five weekly flights in the peak summer period and another two weekly flights by Ryanair.

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