Saturday, 5th July 2008 - 10:44CET
Malta bucks the trend in tourism from the UK
The feeble British pound is increasingly making British tourists seek non-eurozone countries for their holiday, but Malta is going against the trend, reporting a surge in arrivals from the UK in May and an improvement in June as well, according to preliminary figures.
"The situation is mainly the result of two factors. We have advertised heavily in the UK and that is paying off, and, because fuel prices have raised costs, people are again opting for destinations such as Malta instead of taking long haul flights," said Chris Fenech, an official at the Malta Tourism Office in London.
Reports in the UK said earlier this week that with Britain's summer shaping up cold, wet and expensive, there is not much sign of a big shift to stay-at-home tourism: visits to Europe by UK residents in the year through to April slipped only by 1 percent to 55.2 million.
But while holiday mainstays like France and Italy – eurozone countries whose single currency hovers near a record high against sterling -- remain a magnet for UK tourists, cheaper European destinations outside the euro zone, such as Turkey and Poland, are gaining in popularity.
Sterling is stuck near an all-time low to the euro around 81 pence, nearly 20 percent weaker on the year. The pound has been pummelled by a slowing UK economy as a struggling housing market weighs on consumer confidence and growth.
A weak currency makes travel abroad painful, as tourists receive less when they exchange their money in many places.
"UK tourists have woken up to the fact that the euro is stronger than it was last year, but it's not dissuading people from going on holiday," said Mark Nancarrow, managing director of financial services at UK leisure travel group Thomas Cook.
"Demand is definitely shifting," said Dermot Halpin, president of Expedia in Europe. "Destinations outside the eurozone which are mid-haul rather than long-haul, such as Turkey and Bulgaria, are on the up."
The UK tourist market remains Malta’s biggest. Numbers were indeed down 1 percent between January and April but they rebounded strongly in May, with the number of visitors to Malta rising by 15.2 percent on the same month in 2007.
And, Mr Fenech revealed, that according to preliminary airport figures, British visitors to Malta grew almost 4 percent over last year's record figures.
He said it was too early to say how the other summer months will shape up compared to last year's excellent performance, although he was cautiously optimistic
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Comments
Many tourists complain that there are few public toilets in Malta (only two, I believe, on the seafront at Qawra/Bugibba), and that customer service is an alien concept in many of the shops and some of the bars. People with money to spend don't like to be kept waiting by ill-mannered shop assistants or waiters who talk among themselves instead of serving. I know that when it happens to me I shop elsewhere! If they don't want my cash, somebody else does!
Tourists are also offended by the arrogance displayed by many Maltese people; people who don't thank you for stepping aside to let them pass on a narrow footpath, for instance.
And of course, they're terrified of Maltese drivers!
Malta has a lot to sort out, but it can be sorted. It's time to start now, before more tourists vote with their feet. Malta's loss will be eastern Europe's gain. And once you've lost the high ground it is very hard to regain it!
Instead of funding ridiculous, expensive and unnecessary advertising campeigns, the MTA should start improving our tourism infrastructure, such as cleaning up beaches, roads and regulating the bus and taxi services.
Personally I think the standard of English as generally spoken and written on this Island leaves a lot to be desired, that of the language schools not much better.
......isn't it time for our embassies around the EU to start promoting Malta too??
For our particular niche (Language learning) this year is extremley promising and we are not finding enough teachers at the moment..........lets keep up the good work together and give a sterling service which reflects our character, passion and readiness so that we can all reap more benefits and create new opportunities for ourselves!!