The Maltese Journey

Ask Americans about Malta, and those few who know it will probably be fans of the Humphrey Bogart film noir classic, The Maltese Falcon.

Yet the real Malta, set at the crossroads of the Mediterranean between the island of Sicily and Libya's African coast, boasts a history and culture enriched by millennia as a vital strategic link on trade routes. Settled 7,000 years ago by Stone Age Sicilians, the country consists of three islands, the largest and most populous being Malta. The second is Gozo, famed for its lovely beaches and Scuba dive sites, as well as privacy that attracts European jet-setters. Last is tiny Comino, home to the Blue Lagoon, a popular day trip.

The country has been ruled by a dozen cultures, beginning with the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, stretching through the crusading Knights of St. John of Jerusalem (the Knights Hospitallers of Bogart fame), and finally Britain. The country gained independence in 1964.

All this history has left Malta with an impressive infrastructure ranging from temples that predate the Great Pyramids to extensive, well-preserved fortifications built by the crusading knights. Many of the cities have old-world, European-style neighborhoods. As an incentive destination, Malta is both a fascinating and friendly place, bilingual in English after a century-and-a-half of British rule and eager to attract more of the tourism that provides a quarter of its economy.

Incentive house BI Worldwide has used Malta a number of times, mostly for European groups, says Keith Scherbing, senior travel account manager at the Minneapolis–based firm. But last year, he took an American telecom's 60 incentive winners to the island. "We've taken them to every major European incentive destination, and they wanted somewhere different without being too exotic," Scherbing says. "We played up the history, the historical sites, the ancient ruins." The final night's dinner was held in the Hall of St. Michael and St. George, otherwise known as the throne room of the Grandmaster's Palace in Valletta, the city named for a famous leader of the Knights of St. John, the Catholic order that ruled Malta from 1530-1798. "We did one long table under big iron chandeliers," Scherbing says. "[Winners] entered on a red carpet, greeted by trumpeters and Knights in costume."

Not only are the Knights—a real order, if less warlike 900 years after its founding—willing to participate in period-costumed reenactments at historical sites, Malta's government and the nonprofit Malta Heritage Trust are amenable to allowing groups to rent out historical palaces, forts and other sites for private events.

With a little extra insurance and obtainable government approval, even the grounds of the 5,000-year-old Hagar Qim temple are available, says Joe Caruana,