Worried hoteliers seek 'positive conclusion'

Expressing deep concern about the situation in the tourism industry, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) said it hoped the question of low-cost airlines would be settled within the next few weeks.

The association said it held an extraordinary general meeting yesterday in which the council told members that over the past few weeks a great deal of work had been undertaken by the task force on low-cost airlines set up after the association's previous EGM.

Talks were held with the government and other entities "in order to try and bring the matter to a positive conclusion".

The association noted that first quarter figures showed a drop of 5.5 per cent in room nights between January and May, adding that this was cause for concern.

Many members at the meeting expressed concern over the outlook for the rest of the year and, especially, for winter 2006/2007, the MHRA said.

It said it would continue to work towards supporting any initiative that helped drive the number of visitors up to the level of the much needed 15 million bed nights that would enable the industry to get back on its feet.

Currently tourists spend just over 10 million bed nights in Malta, a figure that has been static for 10 years, it added.

"In light of this, the MHRA further encourages the government to extend any scheme launched across as many new routes as possible and to look at this exercise as an investment in future generation of economic activity," it said.