Government urged to emulate Ryanair CEO's attitude

"It is exciting that there are already 30,000 bookings for Malta during the short time since Ryanair's flights to Malta went online," Philip Fenech, president of the Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure Division of the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises - GRTU, said yesterday.

Mr Fenech was reacting to Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary's announcements during a press conference at Malta International Airport on Thursday.

"It is also very exciting that Ryanair are giving out 20,000 free tickets from Malta," Mr Fenech continued. "This shows that Ryanair, in a very short time, has brought new growth to Malta. This, while national airline Air Malta has also reported success in its cut-price fare campaign. This is showing that legacy airlines can reposition themselves to adapt to new market conditions and can compete with low-cost airlines, as the GRTU foresaw."

During his 90-minute flying visit to Malta, Mr O'Leary also announced that 50 per cent of bookings opened until March have been taken up.

"Although, unfortunately, it had taken 18 months to get this deal (with Ryanair) together, Ryanair is already showing interest in other routes. Government has responded and is negotiating with the airline on other routes that are being kept confidential," Mr Fenech pointed out. "Mr O'Leary mentioned he is still interested in having a full base here. That will broaden the scope for many other routes. This will create further interest in Malta as a tourist destination and would also stimulate interest from other carriers to operate to Malta."

Mr Fenech said that with these opportunities on the table, Government is urged to move faster and diligently to be able to regain lost ground after the tourism industry's painful slowdown, especially this year.

"Michael O'Leary brought a welcome burst of positive energy to all the tourism players during the press conference on Thursday with his casual, jovial nature, belying his sharp business acumen and extraordinary foresight," Mr Fenech said. "Let our tourism industry take a leaf from his book and emulate his 'do-er' and 'go-getter' attitude."