Hoteliers seeing drop in repeat business

Mary Fisher

Sep 18th 2008, 19:20

I come and go to Malta as often as I can. One thing that I am noticing is the shabbiness of the place. I wish the Minister of Environment would come for a car ride with me and I would point out what I mean. It is not the Maltese and it is not the tourists - it is sheer negligence. When is it last any of you have seen a road sweeper in your street? It used to be often but I have forgotten what they look like now.
Regarding the hotels, I have heard so many tales of woe. It is just unbelieveable what guests find in the rooms and the cleanliness? and the lovely disposition of the staff? and the food? Are the hotels monitored and do they deserve the star rating that they still carry from when they opened so many years ago? Malta is lovely but there is so very very much to be done yet, and no, it does not cost money - it is sheer common sense. Just remember that tourists are putting food on the tables of many Maltese. But, for how much longer?

P. Attard

Sep 18th 2008, 18:24

Here's a list of some of the causes which might be rectified:

TRANSPORT
- parkers pressure tourists at beaches or interesing archeological sites
- bus drivers short-change the customers
- taxi drivers charge extorionate fares for a trip
- bus routes are very infrequent esp. direct ones eg rabat to sliema and the last ones are at around 9pm if I am not mistaken.
- 50 euros for a short horse-driven cab ride

ENTERTAINMENT
- clubs close at 4am in Paceville - the entertainment centre

BEACHES
- Beaches and the sea are filthy at times, with loads of boats nearby. e.g. Comino
- Sunbeds and Deckchairs are placed on every inch of the bay e.g. Comino, Armier

NOISE POLLUTION
- construction at early morning during the summer months in tourist areas
- vine protectors sounding like a shot guns to frighten birds in gozo firing approx. every minute
- fireworks blasting into the night. e.g. consider 11:30pm curfew (enforce if already in place)

PRICE
Malta is not the only tourist destination in the world. There are other great destinations like Turkey, Spain, Thailand offering a great service and at times a lower price.

Jo Said

Sep 18th 2008, 18:21

Thanks to the inefficient and boring ex Tourism Minister Dr Francis Zammit Dimech, Malta and Gozo turned into the dirtiest and most shanty holiday resorts in the Mediterranean. Repeat bookings are the ones which the hotel industry loves to boast about, and with good reason. But the five-year-rudderless tourism sector did not improve the quality, but, with the help of the worst performing tourism minister ever, the Islands' image deteriorated to unbelievable low levels.

But the MHRA president would not be as direct as I am. His diplomatic way of saying what I said goes like this: Bad publicity by word-of-mouth was worse than a lack of marketing, so much so that hoteliers had seen a decline in repeat business.

a.dalli

Sep 18th 2008, 17:59

A friend of mine from Burnley (north of Manchester) has been coming to Malta for some 45 years now. In the last 15 years he has been coming for two holidays yearly. One soley for fishing and another family holiday. They stay in five star hotels for at least a month on each visit.
This year he opted for a self catering appartment - in the Qawra area. I have been to this place and if I have to classify this premisses I would rather withhold the licence. The air conditioner and the washing machine could not be used as these are intended for long lets.
Water heather went bust after a few days but was not replaced or fixed. Bed sheets were only changed after a number of calls were made. No first needs available such as - coffee, tea, sugar, milk and perhaps some bread and butter - were made available and yes no toilet paper. Unfortunately my friend arrived late in the evening and he had to remain without supplies till the morning. What repeat holidays.

Chris Borg

Sep 18th 2008, 17:54

Last week i was laying on a beach in Crete wondering why the hell tourists go to Malta.

Clearly the money invested in advertising pays off because tourists visit Malta ... never to return after being ripped off.

Tony Gatt

Sep 18th 2008, 17:16

Some time ago I persuaded an English golfing friend of mine to visit Malta. After he'd been here a week I got a tale of woe from him, from the dirt in his hotel swimming pool, to lack of hot water for showering etc. etc. and the lack of sympathy to his complaints from the hotelier.
When I met him again in England I am sure he had told practically everyone in our golf club (there are about 700 members) what a lousy holiday he had had in Malta. I was extremely embarrassed.
These hoteliers think tourists are stupid and do not repeat their experience to friends when they go back home. Well, I've got news for them-they do.
All the fancy advertising in the world is of little use when word-of-mouth contradicts the glossy image portrayed in the brochures.

Liam Kelly

Sep 18th 2008, 16:31

Isnt it about time people like Mr. De Cesare; whose hotels give huge amounts of business to taxi drivers use his influence and insist that taxi drivers are metered? Considering the fact that he's admitted that the product needs improved.

Also, why doesnt Mr. Muscat use his popularity amongst bus drivers to introduce more stringent accountability procedures and aptitude tests for bus drivers?

Talks cheap gents.

Matt Penny

Sep 18th 2008, 16:00

I'm a repeat visitor to Malta (I'll be there on the 27th) but, I must admit, the immigration situation is a worry

I would like to move my young family over to Malta in the next few years as Britain is full but, I don't know if I'm having second thoughts. Although, does this mean double standards as I'd be an immigrant myself?

Probably not as I'd get a job!

mick waddington

Sep 18th 2008, 15:50

i have been returning to malta for 8 years and have found the island cleaner on the last visit and people not only in industry but in general are polite and very helpfull. i believe the drop is mainly due to the cost of flights has become a main factor. but this will not stop me returning at christmas.

Philip Paris

Sep 18th 2008, 15:04

Malta has become dirty, hotels are sub par, people in the industry seem not to care / are rude, and the bus system is bad.
Why would anyone go back to Malta?
Hate me for saying it but its the truth.

C J Allen

Sep 18th 2008, 14:12

In my experience one of the worst problems facing tourists - and not only the tourists! - in Malta is the indifference of shop staff.
I've lost count of the number of times I've left a filled shopping basket at the till because nobody could be bothered to take my money.
I don't mind taking my turn in a queue but I will not wait for staff to finish their conversations with their friends; I just leave the basket - which means that the lazy staff have to put the goods back onto the shelves - and spend my cash elsewhere.
Customer service and good manners are alien concepts here, and they need to be addressed if you want the cash cows to return every year!

Randolph Peresso

Sep 18th 2008, 13:46

My wife and I have just came back from Croatia. During one of our excursions, a tourist operator told me, "Why on earth did you come here?! Malta is such a beautiful place!" My answer was that I knew that Malta is a wonderful place, but we enjoy visiting other countries.

My point is that most foreigners think that Malta is a very nice place to go. This, does not mean that there aren't things in which we can improve. But I think that the propoganda embarked upon by the Government and MTA is giving good results.....I think!

edgar gatt

Sep 18th 2008, 12:25

"Hoteliers have seen a drop in business'. Yesterday, a group of us had lunch in a Hotel in Mellieha. It was a disgusting buffet with bad presentation and the food was inedible. This hotel receives thousands of visitors annually and I cannot believe that anyone of those visitors shall return. MHRA should have a close look at its members standards .Instead of complaining about Product Malta, MHRA should first get their house in order.

Manuel Mifsud

Sep 18th 2008, 11:56

These concerns coming from the President of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association raise a couple of questions.

Why does a plate of Lampuki, chips, salad and Maltese bread plus a bottle of beer cost less than 9 Euros in a restaurant in the south of Malta while one has to pay more than 15 Euros for the same menu in most of other restaurants where most of the tourists are?

And how obout over charging the tourists and Maltese alike on drinks, food, vegetables and a thousand other items?!

m farrugia

Sep 18th 2008, 11:48

Nowadays there is such a wide choice of destinations available to travellers, especially those offered by low cost carriers, that repeat business is probably fastly declining all over Europe, not only in Malta. Take for example Ryanair, it flies 436 low fare routes across 24 countries.

Joe Tabone-Adami

Sep 18th 2008, 11:02

"A decline in repeat business". In poorer, but probably more exact, words:-More and more visitors vowing never to set foot among us again. The reasons? Top prize for the first hundred correct guesses. At least the MHRA president was reportedly sincere enough to admit that "bad publicity by word-of-mouth was worse than a lack of marketing" and to remember that "Malta also needed to improve its product". As if anybody in Malta has still to be told that!