Tourism authority splashes out on Facebook ads, spends €367,000 since election

The Malta Tourism Authority spent big on Facebook since the last general election, having splashed out €367,620 on advertising over the past 20 months.

According to a parliamentary question by Karol Aquilina, the tourism authority spent €367,620 on Facebook adverts alone since the general election in March 2022.

Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo said this spending was related to marketing activities by the authority to promote Malta as a touristic destination.

Among the four entities under the minister’s watch, the MTA is by far the biggest spender on Facebook advertising.

The Institute for Tourism Studies spent €15,611 on Facebook advertising during the same time period, while the Malta Film Commission spend €2,432.

The Mediterranean Conference Centre was most frugal on its Facebook adverts, spending €1,318 since the general election.

MTA’s Facebook spending is high when compared to entities in other ministries. A series of other parliamentary questions addressed to the energy ministry, home affairs ministry and transport ministry show that spending tends to range from €89 to €5,116 over the same period of time.

In the Budget 2024, the MTA suffered a budget cut for the first time in a decade. The cut comes after it overspent its 2021 budget by almost €20 million, and again overshooting its budget by over €14 million in 2022.