Keeping our feet on the ground

I spent most of Friday visiting a number of hotels to assess at first hand the present situation in tourism. The news I received from owners, managers and workers at the different hotels I visited was positive. This is the best year in the past six, not merely in terms of numbers, but also in terms of money spent by tourists in Malta.

I believe a special word of gratitude is due to all those who have made it and are making it happen. The tourism industry cannot thrive and progress without the sheer dedication and commitment of hoteliers and other entrepreneurs who have invested millions of liri in this sector, without the sacrifice and hard work put in by management and workers whose performance daily makes the crucial difference in a visitor's experience of our country.

I could easily add to the equation the countless number of people who, even if not engaged directly in the tourist sector, through their work are making a positive difference in the product we offer tourists - and ourselves.

When you come to think about it, a word of gratitude is really due to each and every Maltese, all of us contribute directly or indirectly to tourism.

The success being achieved this year has not come about by chance but through the hard work put in by thousands of people who work in this sector and by every conscientious person who cares for Malta and our future.

That is why, when I read such bizarre statements being made by the Opposition to the effect that what is happening in tourism this year is more by accident than design, I realise that the Labour Party, in its relentless pursuit of power, is managing to rankle the people through its disregard for the truth. The insult which the Labour Party is trying to direct against me and Government is ultimately an insult to all those - be they stakeholders, employees of the Malta Tourism Authority, management, or workers in the tourism sector in general - who are toiling round the clock to produce such results for the country's benefit.

Nothing happens by chance. Over the past months, Government, together with the stakeholders and the various industry players, has made a number of crucial decisions that have led to this year's results. Those decisions include strategically introducing various low-cost carrier routes, providing the MTA with additional funds (millions!) to market Malta more aggressively than ever before (since this is one of the best investments we can make as a nation), organising large-scale events at a frequency that has been totally unprecedented, and investing further in the product we offer visitors.

That does not stop us from taking advantage of any additional bonus that we manage to tap in favour of tourism. When it's bad weather and flooding in our source markets, the temptation to travel to a country that can offer sunshine and warmth is that much stronger! The Spanish government's decision to subsidise students who wish to study English abroad has also helped.

Be that as it may, if the airline carriers are not there with the available seats for people wishing to come to Malta, no amount of bad weather - even if, reaches hurricane levels - would, on its own, make people fly to Malta! Moreover, if there isn't the right level of marketing and advertising that gives a positive message about the island and does so effectively, the likelihood is that the would-be traveller will simply pick and choose from a multitude of other destinations that have no shortage of sunshine, beaches, and sea.

As regards the Spanish factor, there has been a welcome increase of tourists from Spain. But then we have also had a substantial increase from our largest source market, the UK, and I have not yet heard anyone suggest that we have any visitors from that market coming to Malta to study English!

The truth is that, as pointed out by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, we have had increases across the board. On Friday I purposely visited hotels of different categories and the confirmation came straight from the horse's mouth - all hotels are full, all hotels are achieving better and well deserved room rates, and in all hotels, owners, management and workers alike are looking forward to the winter challenge with justified optimism.

My own level of optimism veers on the cautious side, and my message to one and all last Friday was that we need to keep our feet on the ground. The success we have managed to achieve together over the last nine and a half months (we have had constant increases since November) in a sense makes the challenge ahead of us more arduous, since it is always much more difficult to achieve growth on growth. That is not only the kind of challenge that lies ahead, it is what the industry and the nation as a whole rightly expect of us, and what is as a result our pleasant mission and duty.

Going further

Right. So what next?

The introduction of low-cost carrier routes has clearly been a determining factor. On the other hand, we have been careful not to become totally dependent on this sector. The Ministry of Tourism and Culture and the MTA have kept close contact with all legacy carriers, in particular with Air Malta, to work on joint marketing initiatives that have had their own positive impact.

This year low-cost carriers on their own would have brought to Malta around a tenth of all tourists. Next year the number of tourists brought here by low-cost carriers will increase to around 160,000. We have not rested on our laurels but have sought to introduce new routes. As a result of that decision this winter we will have low-cost carriers operating from Bremen (Germany), Valencia and Girona (Spain) as well as from Stockholm (Sweden).

It was particularly encouraging to note that over the last two months, the percentage increase of airlines is being matched by the percentage increase of tourists, which means that we are achieving higher load factors for the airlines. Without achieving that, airlines would be tempted to reduce their flights.

Since more aggressive marketing has been another factor leading to the present success, the way ahead will mean more investment in this direction. The agreement reached with Media Consulta means that €21 million will be directed towards marketing and advertising over the next three years and we begin to see the effect of an improved and consolidated marketing approach from next month.

Another factor that is making a difference is the organisation of large-scale events that are turning our country into a high-calibre hub in the world of contemporary arts, music events, and entertainment - the oomph and wow factor is now there. We are not merely relying on our 7,000 years of history - over and above that, the present-day scene is alive and vibrant. More of that in the coming months.

Are there any issues that need to be addressed? Of course there are. Our product requires more investment to have it upgraded for our own sake and for our visitors'. Using a substantial part of the European Union funds for the purpose will help. With the aid of the key players in the private sector, we had drawn up an ambitious national tourism plan that is being implemented. That plan requires constant monitoring together with the consultative group that gave birth to it to ensure that the momentum is kept up.

Other issues, such as the impact of massive numbers of young students in summer to learn English and how to ensure that there is no negative effect on the rest of the tourism industry, as well as the impact of construction works on the entire country and on tourism in particular, need to be addressed with determination.

The way ahead is not only about registering further growth, but also about striking the right balance which is probably life's most important challenge, and about ensuring that the benefits of the tourism industry are reaching out further to the people as a whole.

info@franciszammitdimech.com, www.franciszammitdimech.com, Blog: http://franciszd.blogspot.com