Bad winter for travel and tourism agents

Steve Cassar

Dec 2nd 2008, 17:19

Mario Farrugia - no im not pretending that tourists come just to see the parlament that's nonsense!
but having an entrance which a city deserves, will surely make the experience better for the tourists!
btw check what fatta said about the project!
Fatta welcomes decision on City Gate - Today, 16:59
The Federated Association of Travel & Tourism Agents (Fatta) welcomes the news that government is forging ahead with the City Gate...
am i wrong?

Karl Abela

Dec 2nd 2008, 17:04

Lawrence your advice in attracting tourism to our country is very poor indeed. If MuscatMLP & Co continue to embrace the ''distructive criticsm'' for as long as they are in opposition then we are all well off if they remain in the oppostion benches.

Now here is the real beef:

Someone mentioned the 80mill Euros towards the Opera house should be invested in tourism. That sum is not even a drop in the ocean compared to other countries and we will never even be able to compete financially. For us, money should not even be in the equation when we try to solve the problem becuase we just dont have enough even if we throw in every last penny into it.

What Malta needs is to further polish its product by further expanding the Brand Malta campaign. This excercise was valued strongly by hoteliers but was so popularly ridculed by the man on the street especially when their favourite political TV station/newspaper instructed them to do so. With Brand Malta citizens can actively do something for tourism by investing in the image that Malta has with the rest of the world by naming every citizen an embassador for our country.

Patrick Grixti

Dec 2nd 2008, 16:55

FATTA should critically assess the wisdom of MTA allotting a huge chunk of the budget to a UK football club. We as a country are a de facto supporter of this club, instead of adopting a more rational approach. Certainly this is a marketing strategy that NEEDS to be updated. Seconldy, yes we should make use of technology, and the tourism regulator should assist in this respect... without being a competitor to the business!

We keep harping on the heaps of millions of LIRI spent in marketing. So far we (unfortunately ) have not managed to place Malta as a destination of choice, and keep on sending different signals to the different markets we operate. So I ask, how is FATTA influencing affairs in tourism policy?

The CIT business is also showing signs of distress and I ask how many Conferences are being cancelled as a rewsult of the economic downturn. I hope that I am wrong and hope to receive positive resultes from EIBTM.

What we need is to start reacting proactively and not dreaming of pharaonic projects that never materialise.

Mario Farrugia

Dec 2nd 2008, 16:27

J. Farrugia - you definitely have not got the least idea about what you are talking about. "These FATTA members", and others who are not members, spend MILLIONS each year in sales and marketing. With all due respect to Dr. Demarco, do you think that tourists come to Malta because we have a nice minister? (well, not even that, now! - it's a parliamentary secretary which we have!). Or because of the insufficient amount of money allocated in the Govt. budget? Tourists come to Malta mainly because of the huge effort, investment and professional dedication by these "FATTA members", together with several other suppliers (hoteliers included). There is nothing "which makes the tourist keep back from these FATTA Members"... except wrong decisions by higher authorities!

Steve Cassar - so you believe tourists will "come here" because we have a nice parliament building at the entrance to Valletta??? Oh boy!! It's like expecting the Eskimos to visit Switzerland to experience snow!!

R. Sammut - perfectly right! It's a matter of priorities, and it's obvious that this administration has all its priorities mixed up!

Phil Press

Dec 2nd 2008, 16:22

It's all down to the €. Nothing more nothing less. No body not in the € can afford to go anywhere in the EU

Lawrence Psaila

Dec 2nd 2008, 15:35

What Malta badly needs to solve the tourism crisis is a change in Government. These past two decades we have unfortunately been encumbered by successive clueless tourism ministers who, although possessing a brilliant legal mind and exemplary character, all had one thing in common, their blatant lack of nous in the field of tourism. And, also unfortunately, the PN Government never ever gave the tourism industry the topmost priority it deserved to encourage it to flourish. And we've been reaping what we sowed for a number of years now - so I hope nobody will blame the present economic instability for what's coming.

steve cassar

Dec 2nd 2008, 14:46

R Sammut - a better entrance to valletta is for tourism & OURSELVES
go look at it ... stay 10 minutes there & notice how ugly it is!
This is what we want to show to the tourists about the history & culture of our country?
& we want tourists to come here!
"making Malta cleaner and more attractive... " surely valletta will be more attractive with that project! but you want it to stay the same!

J Farrugia

Dec 2nd 2008, 14:24

These FATTA members should not wait for the fruit to fall into their mouths. It is they who should be pro-active and not sitting on others' laurels. What are these offering to would be tourists? Why not take a look at their inner self and see what they are doing to bring in more tourists? Is there something which makes the tourist keep back from these FATTA Members? ANd by the way fatta has always been negative in its interpretation of facts so... I don't think that we should worry. It is them who should really worry for not doing enough to attract tourists. The Government is doing its part by funding money to aid this industry, even the hoteliers are doing their part by updating their product. What is FATTA doing except moaning? Be proactive for once even if we are all seeing dark clouds over us, let's think positive.

R Sammut

Dec 2nd 2008, 14:11

The government should take the Eur 80m which is going to be spent on the opera house and invest it in TOURISM - new flight routes, advertising, making Malta cleaner and more attractive...

Malta can live without a new parliament building.. but can't live without tourism!