Former President of Malta Marie Louise Coleiro Preca delivered a direct message to leaders attending The Mediterranean aha Forum, in Partnership with VisitMalta Incentives & Meetings, setting the tone for a conversation that reached far beyond the room.
Speaking in Malta, at what she described as a significant first for the country, she positioned the gathering not simply as an industry event, but as a moment of strategic relevance within global tourism.
“Firstly, the fact that this is a very first for Malta, bringing accessibility hospitality allies in Malta, in the middle of the Mediterranean, in an area where one third of global tourism actually visit, is an extremely important statement,” she said.
Her framing placed Malta firmly within a wider international context. At the crossroads of global travel, the island is not only welcoming visitors and increasingly contributing to how the future of hospitality is shaped.
The forum brought together leaders from government, banking, professional services, tourism, and hospitality. For Coleiro Preca, the importance of that gathering lay not only in representation, but in purpose.
“Bringing the industry and business leaders together, it’s always so very important to share, but also to discuss innovative ways of ensuring that accessibility is true and effective.”
That distinction — between discussion and understanding — sat at the centre of her remarks. In one of the most direct observations of the day, she challenged the industry’s current grasp of accessibility.
“We speak many a time of accessibility, but at times we don’t really know what we’re talking about.”
It reframes the conversation entirely. Accessibility is not a concept to be referenced, but one that must be understood in practice, consistently and accurately, across all parts of the hospitality experience.
She grounded this challenge in lived reality, drawing attention to young people seeking opportunities within the sector.
“I’m afraid I am quite direct on this, and this is the experience I get from many young people with disabilities who would really yearn to have the opportunity of a job in the catering and hospitality industry, but unfortunately, the way that they are looked at or perceived, it is more from a disability perspective rather than the ability perspective.”
The implication is clear. Accessibility is not confined to physical environments or guest experience. It extends into how individuals are perceived, engaged, and employed.
Denis Sheehan, Managing Director of Accessible Hospitality Alliance, reflected: “The value of bringing together leaders from across government, finance, and industry is not in the conversation alone, but in what it allows us to understand more clearly. Accessibility cannot be approached in isolation. It requires shared thinking, informed by real experience, and a willingness to challenge assumptions.”
Coleiro Preca concluded with a clear statement on the importance of the forum itself.
“The issue of accessibility needs to be very much understood by each and every one of us. So that is why this conference is so very, very important.”
The Mediterranean aha Forum, in Partnership with VisitMalta Incentives & Meetings took place at Malta Marriott Resort & Spa, Balluta Bay, St Julian’s, Malta on 18 March 2026.
