Culture
WATCH: This 1980s British ad shows off Malta as an ‘affordable’ holiday destination
‘You’ve a warmer welcome in Malta’.

Emma Galea

Tourism has long been a major part of Malta’s economy, with the country’s authorities resorting to different means to ensure a steady flow of visitors throughout the summer months.

Testament to this is a video uploaded to Tiktok showing a charming advertisement from the 1980s. The ad in question urges British tourists to choose Malta as their summer holiday destination.

The tagline for said ad was, in fact, ‘you’ve a warmer welcome in Malta’ – a reference to the islands’ hot, bright, and sunny summers which British tourists tend to crave.

@newsreelsfromthepast Who remembers these commercials ? #nostalgia #nostalgic #malta #old #commercial #tv #years #tourist #80s #airplane #airport #island #throwback ♬ original sound - Newsreelsfromthepast

The footage used for the ad shows many sites that remain synonymous with the Maltese islands to this day. Fort St Angelo, a fisherman with his luzzu, and a signature Maltese karozzin are among the quintessentially Maltese elements shown off in the clip.

The ad’s narrator can also be heard explaining how “Malta is as affordable as ever.”

This video goes on to show a number of other advertisements from the same period. Among these is an ad for Gelandia ice-cream which put buyers in with the chance of winning a trip to Orlando, Florida.

Another ad, for Maltese food and drink company Caprat, told viewers that by purchasing the brand’s squash, they’d be in with the chance of winning a whopping Lm3,000.

Do you remember seeing any of these ads? 

TikTok/newsreelsfromthepast

26th February 2024


Emma Galea
Written by
Emma Galea
Emma is a Gozitan writer who loves all things related to English literature and history. When not busy studying or writing you will either find her immersed in a fictional book or at the cinema trying to watch as many films as she possibly can!

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