The Malta Tourism Authority and the government came under fire from the tourism industry at yesterday's presentation of the MHRA Hotel Survey for the first quarter, which showed most hotels reporting higher winter losses, significantly decreased occupancy levels and a bleak future.
The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association said: "We remain concerned about the prospects for next winter and have therefore insisted that the Malta Tourism Authority presents its concrete plans to deliver better results. By then, the long-awaited benefits of restructuring and re-branding should be felt.
"The MTA should be in a position to give us advance notice of its specific measurable targets and action plans against which its performance can then be gauged".
Previous warnings of a bad winter seem to have fallen on deaf ears, the industry said, hoping that past mistakes would not be repeated and complaining about procrastination.
A call for the resignation of the MTA chairman and the tourism minister was also made from the floor in view of the fact that they were not likely to live up to their promise of a growth of 70,000 tourists this year.
"So far, in the first six months, we are in negative figures. As for the rest of the year, it does not look like we are going to see anywhere near an additional 70,000 tourist arrivals," Island Hotels Group director Winston Zahra jnr said.
These authorities should be held accountable if their established targets are not met, he insisted, pointing out that at the last survey presentation only three months ago - when the bleak scenario was highlighted - they had said that last year's shortfall would be made up for in 2006 and 2007.
"On what basis was this forecast calculated and are those responsible prepared to resign if the 70,000 tourist arrivals target is not achieved? They were not reading the situation correctly even though the industry has been trying to explain it; action has not been taken and, ultimately, the industry is suffering. It is not seeing results, it is fed up and it is frustrated," Mr Zahra said, adding that its investments were at risk.
The survey results for the first quarter, as expected, were not good, MHRA vice-president Josef Formosa Gauci said. Occupancy was down significantly, mitigated slightly by the increase in rates - but not enough to make up for the drop together with an increase in costs.
The Bank of Valletta hotel survey by Deloitte showed that from January to March, the sharpest decline in occupancy levels was in the three-star sector (18 per cent lower), with widespread decline in the four-star sector (six per cent lower) and the five-star sector being the most resilient (0.6 per cent higher).
Occupancy levels for this month were down by seven per cent in the five-star sector, by three per cent in the four-star and 11 per cent in the three-star.
The report showed that every category registered an increase in average achieved room rates (AARR) due to changes in business mix and higher prices, where possible, to offset higher costs.
Total revenue per room in the five-star sector was 15 per cent up, but fell for the rest of the hotel industry, with a decline of 22 per cent in the three-star sector.
Due to higher costs, gross operating profit margins worsened considerably in the four-star and three-star sectors, with all categories trading at a loss in the first quarter, the report showed.
The government yesterday passed on a counter-report on low-cost carriers to the MHRA task force, which was set up after its April extraordinary general meeting and had commissioned Deloitte to draw up a study on the impact of these airlines on other business, said Mr Formosa Gauci.
At the end of May, this was presented to the government, which, in turn, promised an analysis within the week.
"Given the current situation, if we want low-cost carriers to start operating in Malta next winter, every day is a day lost. So we need to move as fast as possible; we do not have weeks and months to discuss the issue," Mr Formosa Gauci said.
The survey confirmed what the MHRA members have been saying and what has been predicted for some time, namely that winter business was becoming more difficult and that occupancy during the low season was falling, said the MHRA.
It also expressed its concern at the fact that no roadmap for the branding of Malta was in place and that the May 1 target to distribute leaflets to every household to explain branding had not been met either.
In a statement, the Tourism Ministry expressed its disappointment at the tone used by Mr Zahra during his intervention at the presentation of the survey.
It said Mr Zahra knew more than anyone else about the work that was being carried out by the government together with the private sector to improve the state of tourism and to do what was necessary to attract more tourists, especially in the winter months.