A recent suggestion that Pembroke, not Ta’ Qali, would make an ideal location for a new conference and convention centre has attracted support from industry experts, but criticism from the government and the Pembroke mayor.
Earlier this month, EC Meetings managing director Mark Gatt proposed in a Times of Malta opinion article that with its sea-facing views and distance from congested areas, Pembroke would be the “most suitable” location for a new convention centre.
Some industry experts believe the Pembroke site’s commanding coastal views would give it the edge. Photo: Matthew MirabelliGatt said the Institute for Education on Martin Luther King Road would be well-placed for such a venue, linking to and complementing the planned adjacent White Rocks national park.
Industry experts Times of Malta spoke to overwhelmingly agreed with Gatt’s suggestion, highlighting the area’s proximity to St Julian’s plethora of large hotel offerings while underlining the importance of building a new, purpose-built convention centre.
The need for a large convention centre was highlighted several years ago when the iGaming SiGMA conference outgrew its Ta’ Qali site and caused traffic mayhem when it relocated to Marsa’s Mediterranean Maritime Hub in 2024.
Its large annual conference ultimately moved to Milan.
SiGMA COO Heathcliff FarrugiaSiGMA COO Heathcliff Farrugia said Pembroke could make a good conference centre location due to its proximity to St Julian’s.
“The main hotels are located there, so the commute would be much shorter, meaning less traffic,” with short travelling distances between accommodation and the area ideal for inbound delegates travelling to Malta, he said.
Farrugia stressed that regardless of venue, “space is critical”, however, while noting that other factors such as reliable data connectivity across most parts of the country made Malta an attractive conference and expo destination.
“When we travel abroad to bigger countries, having mobile data such as 5G reception is not always a given, but in Malta, due to its size, we take it for granted,” he said.
‘The time has come’
VenueBX managing director Chris FenechCorporate events specialist VenueBX managing director Chris Fenech welcomed Gatt’s proposal, saying “the time has come” for Malta to have a “flagship conference centre in the Mediterranean”.
Fenech said that while Malta’s existing venues, such as the Hilton and InterContinental hotels and Valletta’s Mediterranean Conference Centre provided a high-quality experience, their size limited the scale of events the country can host. These venues generally hit capacities of around 1,500 delegates.
“We can’t confidently host conferences of around 3,000 people,” he said.
“The time has come to have a dedicated conference and expo space because the business is there.”
Meanwhile, the proposed Pembroke site being on the doorstep of a large open space slated to become a national park could also prove to be a boon and attract conferences, he said.
“People get tired of being stuck inside, so having a nice outdoor area is a positive – and that’s always been Malta’s selling point: its weather and proximity to the sea.”
Echoing Farrugia, he said Pembroke could prove positive in terms of traffic, noting that while delegates would still require transport from hotels in St Julian’s, “at least it’s close by”.
Industry experts said a conference venue near the White Rocks could help supplement the planned national park. Photo: Pichemist/Wikimedia Commons‘Phenomenal earner’
JUGS Malta co-founder and director Gianni ZammitGianni Zammit, co-founder and director of events provider JUGS Malta, described conferencing as a “phenomenal earner” for Malta, noting that tourism data showed that conference delegates tended to be higher-spending visitors.
Agreeing that Malta lacked a range of venues able to cater for larger conferences, Zammit said that a new conference centre would ideally be modular, configurable for various layouts serving up to thousands of delegates.
“There is a need, and the [hotel] beds are available now,” he said.
Zammit stressed that any new venue should be purpose-built, with features such as stepless loading bays, sufficient hanging points for technical equipment such as PA speakers, heavy goods lifts and fully-equipped kitchen facilities in line with other major venues.
Echoing forecasts of improved traffic, he championed Pembroke’s proximity to the ‘golden mile’ – referring to St Julian’s offerings of five-star hotels.
“Where Malta used to be attractive for transport, with most places on the island accessible within 30 minutes, we’re now losing up to two hours in conference programmes due to traffic,” he said.
The MFCC is of the right size to accommodate expos, but its roof can make speeches difficult to hear in rainy conditions. Photo: Continentaleurope/Wikimedia CommonsZammit said an ideal conference venue would also allow for larger expo events that could struggle to be accommodated at the country’s existing convention centre.
“The MFCC is great to work in but has some drawbacks – in hot weather it needs significant air conditioning, while rain on the marquee can make a lot of noise during speeches,” he said.
‘It’s about logistics’
FATTA president Iain TonnaFederated Association of Travel and Tourism Agents (FATTA) president Iain Tonna agreed with the need for a new convention centre: “We need to put our money where our mouth is – it needs to be world class.”
Stressing the need for a “fully- fledged” convention centre, he said that Ta’ Qali’s MFCC had been a “temporary fix”, with its size and construction meaning it was cold in the winter and susceptible to noise from wind and rain.
“We have to accept that we’re in competition with places that have fully-fledged conference centres,” he said.
He echoed praise of Pembroke’s proximity to St Julian’s hotels, noting that conferences of around 250 people held in venues like the MCC typically
required at least five buses to transport while in Pembroke, five buses operating in shuttle service could feasibly take up to 1,000 people.
“It’s about logistics,” he stressed.
Tonna stressed the wider economic benefits of such a venue, with conferences seeing funds funnelled into local businesses such as caterers and accommodation venues while encouraging people to return as tourists.
‘Too limited’
The discussion follows the government last year telling Times of Malta it was planning to develop a large convention centre on the site of the Malta Fairs and Convention Centre (MFCC).
The plans emerged after the prime minister pledged to secure a more suitable venue for future editions of the SiGMA conference after it was revealed that the flagship gaming conference was moving to Milan.
A spokesperson for the Office of the Prime Minister acknowledged that while the country “needs a state-of-the-art convention centre”, the Pembroke site appears to be too limited in size to accommodate a convention centre of this scale.
SiGMA’s annual conference was blamed for causing traffic chaos two years ago. File photo: Matthew MirabelliThe spokesperson noted that a significant portion of the area lies within a Natura 2000 site – a network of protected environments across the EU. He said the government “remains committed to an open and responsible evaluation process”.
Meanwhile, Pembroke mayor Kaylon Zammit said that while he recognised that a high-end convention centre could attract valuable events, he does not believe the site in question is suitable.
“Any proposal would, of course, need to be carefully evaluated, but the council’s concern would definitely be that locating such a project within Pembroke could place undue strain on the locality.”
While everyone Times of Malta spoke to agreed that a new state-of-the-art conference centre would be a boon for the country, it seemingly remains, at least for now, destined for Ta’ Qali.