Conflicting reports on provision of transport, guiding services

Coach owners and tourist guides fail to see eye to eye with cruise liner agents who have underscored a shortage in the provision of their services.

SMS Group Ltd chairman Neville Mifsud pointed out that the number of coach licences was last increased in 1995, up to 142, and, as a result, handling agents were facing numerous problems.

As he welcomed the latest liner to its fold, the Norwegian Gem, Mr Mifsud said all too often the group did not find enough coaches to handle its requirements for cruise liner calls, conferences and sightseeing tours for tourists.

"There are simply not enough coaches to handle the increased tourist arrivals and this could be the cost of success. With Malta's increasing popularity with cruise liner companies, this problem stands to increase not diminish."

Norman Hamilton, managing director of Hamilton Travel, said that, while he did not experience a shortage in guides, a problem with coaches did arise, mostly on Fridays when, at times, there were as many as seven liners in the Grand Harbour.

"Sometimes the schedule of the sightseeing tours is so tight that the drivers do not have time to clean the coaches between the morning and afternoon trips and we get complaints from our principals abroad that the service is not up to scratch," he said.

Chris Paris, Viset general manager, said the problem mainly arose during peak days when as many as 13,000 passengers disembarked in one day, with 40 per cent choosing to take a paid excursion.

"Fridays is one of the busiest days but so are Tuesdays and Wednesdays and the deployment of liners is spreading through the week. It all depends whether the different organisations are prepared to share their services," he said.

Mr Paris also felt the time had come to look into new transportation options, such as sea transport.

According to the National Statistics Office, last year registered an increase of over 500,000 arrivals (or 53 per cent) over 1995. This was a clear indicator, Mr Mifsud felt, that Malta's stock of tourist coaches had to be reviewed quickly.

"Over the past 12 years there has been a particular and considerable increase in cruise liner passengers. This type of tourism has a substantial demand for good-quality coaches - there is not one state-of-the-art coach in Malta," Mr Mifsud argued.

"We are sure this is not a situation that our company alone is experiencing. It should be recognised and accepted that the time has come to give more space for entrepreneurs who are ready and willing to invest in providing more modern transport services," he insisted.

"In these circumstances, the authorities should approve the increase in both guides and coach licences... Malta is competing with numerous tourist destinations and cruise liner ports and we must offer services that are available elsewhere," Mr Mifsud said.

However, the Unscheduled Bus Service, which represents the 142 coach owners, individual coach operators and the Malta Union of Tourist Guides, insists there is no shortage.

UBS chairman George Hyzler explained that until some years ago whoever required the service of a coach had to go through UBS but this had changed and handling agents could now choose their coach operator.

"If a handling agent established a contract with a coach operator who cannot meet the demand this does not mean there is a dearth of coaches. Naturally, the agent is bound by the availability of a particular garage," he explained.

Dr Hyzler added that the price would have already been set by the two sides, so if another garage stepped in to meet the demand the chances were that the handling agent may not be prepared to pay a higher price.

"If the handling agents want, they can come to us and we will solve their problem by assigning a member who has coaches at hand but they would have to be willing to pay for this extraordinary service," he said.

"It is quite easy to point fingers but the reality is that they're not willing to pay more," Dr Hyzler said.

On the charge that there was not a single state-of-the-art coach on the island, Dr Hyzler said that, compared to other transportation providers, coaches were well above the national average standard.

In order to buy a coach, owners had to fork out a hefty 23 per cent of the vehicle's value (as estimated by the government) in registration taxes. UBS had been calling on the government to lower the rate of the registration tax, which would serve as an incentive and go a long way in renewing the fleet and solve the problem.

Anton Muscat, manager of Koptaco, a cooperative with 36 members, agreed that there was no shortage and that their clients' needs were always met.

"The demand is not consistent and it is not viable for us to invest in more coaches if there are days when the vehicles are idle in the garage. We have to depend on other business, such as providing transport for schools and coffee mornings, to sustain our operations because tourism does not always provide a return," he said.

Mr Muscat said that if the cooperative invested in new coaches the handling agents would have to be prepared to pay a higher price for the service, a sentiment echoed by Nazzareno Abela, who runs Supreme Garage.

Meanwhile, the president of the Malta Union of Tourist Guides, Christine Muscat said there were about 800 guides in Malta and claims of a shortage were triggering a false alarm.

The guides depended on agencies to call them and more often than not many were at home eagerly waiting for the phone to ring.

"Most guides complain they do not have enough work. Throughout December and January the majority were at home. If you're lucky you'd land one job in a week, so we are raring to go whenever there is work," Ms Muscat said.