Med. tourism buoyant as Malta sinks

Tourist arrivals in southern and Mediterranean Europe increased by five per cent in the first four months of this year, according to the latest United Nations World Tourism Organisation report, whereas Malta saw a drop of 1.4 per cent between January and May.

Israel increased its figures on the previous year by 30 per cent, Croatia by 12 per cent, Serbia and Montenegro by 10 per cent, Spain by six per cent and Italy by five per cent.

Cyprus and Turkey reported drops of four per cent and seven per cent respectively but the report attributes these to fears over avian flu. UNWTO secretary general Francesco Frangialli said: "International tourism has now entered a more stable phase of sustained demand without big peaks and troughs. Although the rate of growth is slowing gradually, international tourism is firmly on track to grow at a rate about the long term average of four per cent for the third year in a row".

According to the National Statistics Office, inbound tourism to Malta in May was estimated at 102,740, a decrease of 8.7 per cent over the corresponding month last year.

The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association recently expressed concern over the situation and the strategy being adopted by the Malta Tourism Authority. The MHRA said: "Of most concern is that, while only a few weeks ago in a press interview the outgoing (MTA) chairman mentioned that we should see growth of 45,000 visitors, during his resignation statement he said he does not expect to see any growth in numbers this year.

"The MHRA is concerned that the lack of strategy within MTA leading to this situation is proving to be very detrimental to the industry and urges the authority to draw up a clear strategy for immediate implementation without further delay."

The association also criticised the Lm500,000 allocated to launch the new brand image for Malta, saying it was not sufficient to make the necessary impact.