Editorial

With around one million visitors a year, concentrated mostly in the summer months, leading operators of Malta's tourist sector have been complaining that while more visitors may be arriving, net receipts from tourism are down.

They put this to a number of factors, not least the steep rise in water and electricity rates, but all seem to be clamouring for Government to allow low-cost airlines to operate to Malta. There are various arguments in favour of this, but there are also fears that this could affect the national airline, Air Malta, very badly, not to mention major airlines operating from Malta.

This week Government is expected to outline its policy on low-cost airlines; any likely solution would probably be designed to meet two objectives: to attract visitors from markets which are not catered for either by the national carrier or the other major airlines operating here, and to ensure that tourist traffic is spread evenly throughout the year, thus filling hotel beds not only in summer but also in the lean winter months and in the so-called shoulder months.

That way, low-cost airlines would not be competing directly with Air Malta, while contributing substantially to hotels, guest houses and the rest of the tourist sector by ensuring they operate at full, or near-full, capacity. Another advantage would be that low-cost airlines would offer the Maltese traveller a wider choice of destinations at lower cost. (A familiar gripe among Maltese travellers is that airport and departure taxes are far too high).

Ryanair, the Irish carrier now established as one of the world's leading low-cost airlines, has been pressing the Government and Malta International Airport to give it the right conditions to operate here. These concern mainly the landing charges, which understandably have to be kept low to keep the airfare cheap. The low-cost airlines' strategy, in fact, has been to find little-used if not out-of-the-way airports all over Europe, which therefore had low landing charges, and turn them into major destinations.

There is no doubt that the arrival of Ryanair in East European countries and other destinations in Europe has been a boost to these countries' economies. Indeed, Ryanair is set to operate a hub in Wroclaw, Poland, to complement the airline's growing East European network which already includes the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Latvia and Lithuania.

The truth is that low-cost airlines are here to stay, and are destined to change the way people travel and organise their holidays. Holidaymakers today are more and more likely to book flights, hotels, rail tickets, car hire and even theatre shows on the Internet. This gives them the chance to compare prices, standards and services, while often enjoying huge discounts - which is understandable, seeing that the hotel or airline saves on commissions to travel agents or tour operators. Of course they would also compare destinations. Also, holidaymakers today tend to take shorter but more frequent holidays abroad.

The money saved on low fares is likely to be spent on food, shopping and entertainment, which means that tourist spending will benefit more sectors of the economy and more widely. And users of low-cost airlines are not low-income travellers - a British CAA survey of Ryanair passengers at Stansted airport in London found that they earned an average of £51,000 a year.

Another development in world tourism is the expected boom in outbound travellers from China and India, whose increasingly affluent population is likely to seek new holiday destinations in Europe. They will join the Japanese - long a familiar presence in Europe, with lots of money to spend - and probably surpass them in sheer numbers in the next 20-25 years. Are we gearing ourselves for the booming Asian market?

Malta must adapt itself to these changes as soon as possible. It is all very well to market the island as a unique destination - which it certainly is - and to adopt a "segment" approach, but in the final analysis we must have the quality and the numbers, possibly all the year round.

These changes must be complemented by a genuine effort by the entire population, and particularly those who come in direct contact with tourists, to live up to our reputation for hospitality and not just by greeting them with smiles (which are sadly lacking sometimes), but also by making sure they are given good service and value for money. This, as Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech observes elsewhere in this issue, is what makes a visitor want to return and tell his friends about.