Malta recently hosted 30 international travel influencers for the second Malta Travel Influencer Summit, an initiative that, while tourism-focused, also highlights the country’s broader ambitions in the digital, creative and AI-driven economy.

Organised by the Malta Tourism Authority and supported by Turkish Airlines, the summit brought participants from 17 countries, underscoring Malta’s growing visibility as a hub for creative industries.

Held at ME Malta by Meliá Hotels, the programme included panel discussions, keynotes and networking sessions centred on digital content creation. The primary theme focused on how artificial intelligence is reshaping the sector. Additional sessions explored personal branding, algorithm-driven strategies and the digital nomad lifestyle, areas aligned with Malta’s push to attract high-value remote professionals and digital-economy investors.

MTA CEO Carlo Micallef said Malta’s appeal made the event a logical fit.

 “Malta has always been a place of storytelling, through its history, its people and its landscapes. Hosting this event was a natural fit for us.”

Murat Özbilgi, founder of Mundo Ventures and the summit’s main collaborator with VisitMalta, added that the intention was to “create a space where influencers could connect, collaborate and grow in a way that feels genuine, not transactional.”

Following the conference, attendees visited key cultural and natural sites including Valletta, Mdina, Birgu and the Blue Grotto. Their posts from these visits generated more than 1,000 pieces of content across major social platforms, adding to Malta’s international visibility and supporting efforts to attract higher-value tourism.

The event concluded with an Influencer Content Challenge, where creators recreated scenes from productions filmed in Malta such as Gladiator, Troy, Game of Thrones, Jurassic World and Popeye. The challenge was followed by an award ceremony at the Malta Maritime Museum, which included Heritage Malta’s “Taste History” dinner experience.

For Malta, events like this serve a dual purpose: increasing tourist visibility while signalling the country’s capacity to host international creative projects, support digital-first industries, and provide a competitive ecosystem for investment in media, technology and innovation.