Government discussing new routes with airlines

The government is having talks with airlines aimed at introducing new routes to Malta next winter, thus also raising seat capacity, Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco said today.

Speaking during a business breakfast which discussed the tourism industry, Dr de Marco touched on various aspects of the industry and said that Malta should not just focus on the usual tourism areas but also on the rural aspect and on village cores.

Qawra and Buġibba, he said, could get the extra edge with agro tourism, both areas being so close to the countryside. A vision was needed for the area and operators could not remain stuck in a time warp.

He noted that permits for the embellishment of the St Paul’s Bay promenade had just been given.

On rubbish collection in Paceville, Dr de Marco said that this had to be centralised because it was currently in a state of chaos. While the local council was in charge of the collection of residents’ rubbish, commercial outlets were responsible for the collection of their own wasteand this was creating an aura of shabbiness with bags taken out at different times. This was unacceptable and he hoped that the GRTU and the operators would play ball when a new system was proposed.

On tourist arrivals, the parliamentary secretary said that the 15 percent drop in tourism last winter matched the drop in seat capacity. Seat capacity had now improved. The Secretariat for Tourism was also having talks with airlines for new routes to be introduced in winter and seat capacity for that period should thus also improve.

Dr de Marco said that one should not panic because the country was not performing as well as last year. Apart from the recession which was a cycle that the country would get out of, 2008 was a record year in terms of arrivals.

He stressed that the €120 million being given by the EU for product improvement had to be used wisely and on time.

On requests for the removal of the five percent value added tax on restaurants, Dr de Marco said this would cost the government €30 million. Was this the right time to do it?

He pointed out that when the levy on alcohol was removed, most restaurants did not pass this decrease to the consumer.

The managing director of EMCS Consulting group said that restaurants in Malta were not cheap at all. They were in fact on par with Italy. Value for money greatly influenced summer travel and Malta was pretty much on the high side.