Place Marketing, Strategic Planning and Competitiveness: The Case of Malta

This article investigates place marketing and strategic planning processes in the case of Malta Island as a competitive tourist destination. The article focuses on the main ingredients that compose the marketing and strategic planning performance and presents the repositioning process of Malta's image in the international tourism market. The article concludes that place marketing is a strategic process with particular phases of development that leads to the creation of a competitive and attractive destination. Finally, the article supports that strategic planning and place marketing could not operate by themselves, but they need to be built on partnerships among local actors and decision-makers.