The establishment of the Special Thanks And Recognition (STAR) Award in 2005 was a way of recognising outstanding people who work in the tourism industry and offer exceptional service and hospitality to tourists. The Malta Tourism Authority receives around 15,000 nominations from visitors acclaiming their positive experiences and complimenting the service and hospitality they received during their stay in Malta. Anyone can be nominated for a STAR Award and both tourists and locals are eligible to send a nomination. Nomination forms are available at Tourist Information Offices, hotels, museums and visitor attraction sites. Nominations can also be submitted online from this website or by scanning the QR code on the form itself.

Businesses are encouraged to participate by collecting nomination forms from the Malta Tourism Authority or make arrangements to have them delivered. From then on, it's the tourists themselves who drive the process by nominating those individuals who made their stay in Malta special.