Labour leader Alfred Sant has called for a national strategy to secure growth in the tourism sector.

During a meeting with a delegation from the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) at the Labour Party headquarters in Hamrun yesterday, Dr Sant said such a strategy could be achieved through a coordinated effort by all the stakeholders involved in the industry.

He said such a strategy was essential to achieve higher tourist arrivals and for the sector to move out of the present crisis.

"The government does not seem to be bothered with the present crisis. But we need to improve the product so as to attract more tourists," Dr Sant said. MHRA senior vice-president Josef Formosa Gauci said tourist arrivals in the first quarter of the year had dropped and the industry had passed through a difficult winter. "We have indications that May and June were not positive either," he added.

He said the MHRA wanted to see more low-cost airlines operate to and from Malta. The presence of such carriers around the world was increasing and Malta had to respond to reality. It was calculated that 100 million people would used low-cost airlines in Europe this year. At the same time, MHRA saw Air Malta as an important player in the sector.

Dr Sant replied that Malta should be flexible to adapt to new realities like low-cost airlines without losing essential tools such as the national carrier.