The fate of three-star hotels in Malta

I refer to the statement by Mario de Marco in relation to the poor standard of accommodation offered by our three-star hotel sector. If the Administration would like to come to a quick conclusion as to why this sector has found itself in such dire straits, look at some of the past balance sheets of these operations where every picture will tell you the same story!

If we really also want to find out why Malta is registering the biggest drop in arrivals among its competitors, may I remind him of the two very expensive studies carried out on this sector some four years ago. These surveys were instigated by his predecessors and he will find that the factual one, which was the one that was conducted first, was shelved because no one wanted to listen to the facts but instead decided to conduct a second expensive survey to "make things look better" and ignored the survey with the unpalatable facts. A copy should be found in the archives of the MTA offices!

The second survey concluded that tourism was changing worldwide and such hotels were a thing of the past and that we no longer needed the bucket and spade brigade. Our neighbours and competitors did not take notice of the advice given in the second report and kept soldiering on. Therefore, they have a thriving three-star sector which can still offer value for money holidays with no frills which, in the current economic climate, is what people want. Unfortunately, Malta has missed out!

However, the decline of tourism can also be directly linked to previous abuse that a "blind eye" was turned to. The biggest culprit was the building industry, which we were frequently told the economy needed and the non-binding agreement on construction and infrastructure works being carried out near tourist establishments during certain periods of the year. To mention one example, after a dismal winter season during which the hoteliers worked hard to fill their properties, Enemalta arrived on May 3 and commenced trenching works outside some of the biggest three-star hotels. This resulted in the tour operators, rightly so, moving their clients to other properties. Have we forgotten when excavation works adjoining one of the then larger three-star operations commenced at 6 a.m. with the result that clients were foaming at the mouth in hotel foyers as they and their families were not allowed to enjoy a lie-in on their holiday?!

Have we also forgotten when reports were lodged with the authorities, including the ministry concerned, of clients leaving hotels to go out for the day and returning within minutes totally covered in dust as a builder on the construction site next door decided to start chasing works the moment they walked past on their way to the bus stop? Do I need to begin to mention the subject of the hard-sell methods of the timeshare sales reps and the sewage running down the street in Qawra, the electricity and water cuts as the systems could not cope with the influx during the summer months?

Do we really think these people, who otherwise would have enjoyed their holiday, will ever return? So we now have a lot of four- and five-star hotels but do we have four- and five-star resorts?

Has the government of the day pandered too much to the niche groups (like builders) because they have enough votes to affect the outcome of an election to the detriment of one of the sectors that provides most jobs both directly and indirectly?