Malta taps late travel bookings surge

Graham Holme

Aug 19th 2009, 06:58

Ok ,people ,lets call a truce,call a spade,spade?Look at the facts,a tourist ,in any holiday destination,is a candidate for a sting,a rip off,by no stretch of the imagination ,am I criticising ,Malta,just saying it how it is.
Look around you,what do you see?On the whole,Malta is a scruffy,untidy Island,its reputation,of the people being friendly,welcoming ,is not enough now,to tempt Joe Bloggs and his family to come here and spend his hard earned cash,plus the long haul destinations,Mexico,Sri Lanka,The Maldives etc,are becoming more affordable.
There is a couple of old sayings,You reap what you sow,You must speculate to accumulate. Seems like the powers that be,are sowing no seeds,yet are expecting a full harvest.
Its like a bank account,you start off with X no of Euros,if you keep withdrawing,put nothing back in,then in time ,your account would be empty
One last question? If you were from another part of Europe,and were planning a holiday,what would tempt you to come to Malta?
Like the song from Bob Dylan,The times they are a changing,and Malta seems to be stuck in a time warp ,
A full face lift.overhaul is needed,for Malta to remain competitive,sadly its reputation as the friendly island,is no longer enough.

emanuel bajada

Aug 18th 2009, 21:53

A foreigner on vacation here in Xlendi , this morning was given a parking ticket for parking his car half on double line in front of St Andrews diving centre - he was only there for few minutes enough to change his empty air cylinder for a filled one - what makes me angry is the fact that in all probability same warden must have for a few times these last 3 months exactly between begining of May to end July passed by a parked crane 24 hours a day on a double line at the top corner of Triq it-Torri Xlendi. I wonder how many tickets said warden have dished out for this illegal dangerous parking, though the Munxar local council was well informed about this. But probably not - the crane is not K plated!! This was the big thank you to this German visitor who against all odds and with a lot of sacrifice and savings have chosen to, come to holiday here for the 5th year in a row bringing much needed cash here on the island . Shame, double shame!!!

c.t. busuttil

Aug 18th 2009, 21:52

Pound for pound, I believe Malta makes a lovely location for a safe and pleasant holiday. Tourists ANYWHERE are vulnerable. We should not hesitate to name and shame. Word gets around very fast especially here in Malta.

Frank Arrowsmith(tourist)

Aug 18th 2009, 21:44

Re Chrissey Zammit, yes you are not the only one my friend we too were caught up but in our case were abit late to complain since we already left the restaurant at a small Gozitan village called Maslaforn i think, they are getting so desperate for business in Gozo that now result in cheating their customers some of them, not all mindyou,let be fair., but its enough to tick Gozo off our programme the next time we fly out to Malta, and at this rate maybe never again. So yes as Mr.Zammit says check your bill and also the vat receipt as by all account some don't even give you one,if one happens to be dumb looking or something i guess. Yes i agree with some Maltese comments the Gozitans just love the smell of money,ok it wouldn't be so bad if the service match up to it. Just being honest i suppose.

Pauline Gray

Aug 18th 2009, 21:29

@ Patrick Camilleri,
Yes you are right, human nature being what it is, you will always get scumbags trying to rip you off, everywhere in the world. but when it's in your own country it's quite embarrasing, as you mention Tower Hill, and especially outside Madam Tusauds,!! any street vendors, same as Malta.
We (my husband and children) have been coming to Malta for the past 27 years, have always loved the Maltese people, for their kindness, honesty hospitality, etc etc.
We always knew the air fares were expensive, but we always knew that once here, drinks, ice cream, deck chairs and umbrellas and eating out , were very cheap. Now our fares are cheap, but everthing already mentioned are very expensive. The hiring off 2 umbrella and 4 sunbeds at Armier 22Euros multiply that by 14 days????????, Add on cold drinks and ice cream!!!!!!!!!!!!
But the worst thing that happend was at little Armier, (Ray's Bar) I ordered Hobs biz Zejt!!! I got a burger bun filled with lettuce, a slice of limp cucumber, about half a teaspoon of tuna, no tomatoe or oil, but tons of cous cous, on complaing I was told it was a Maltese,!!

Graham Holme

Aug 18th 2009, 20:31

True,its rip off London,couldnt agree more,but ,tourists will always make a bee line,for London,Paris,Rome,those places will never be short of visitors,re,Royalty,History,and of course ,their World wide reputation,not that I condone overpricing,but the taxis , shops ,bars etc,of the afore mentioned places,will overcharge away,knowing they will never be short of potential victims
At the moment Malta needs every tourist it can get,at least before in Malta ,you got overcharged with a smile,now you get overcharged with a scowl
As for my daughter,im sure every father worth his salt,would stand up and fight her battles for her,enough said,I rest my case,Have a nice day

Chrissey Zammit

Aug 18th 2009, 19:57

I went for a meal in a very well known restaurant . Upon checking the bill there was 2 bottles of wine on there and 2 beers. We had 1 bottle of wine & NO beers, I called the waiter over and asked for an explanation. ONLY to be told "YES you did have 2 bottles of wine and the beers" There was one empty wine bottle on the table and NO beer bottles. I pursued the argument and called the manager who took the extra off the bill 38euros !!! Needless to say they have lost a very good customer. They are NOW struggling for buisness, they are sending SMS to customers with different offers !!! SO............... you must ALWAYS check your bills.DONT become complacent.

Jane Apap

Aug 18th 2009, 19:01

Well no harm in trying i guess, but the chances are slim.

Joe Fenech

Aug 18th 2009, 18:32

Well, you'll only attract SOME English - people who usually go to Blackpool (who has suffered a lot of rain) . Blackpool nowadays attracts mainly yobs. It IS NOT a family town any more! UPMARKET TOURISM? Come on...!!


C Cassar

Untrue! Rip off and expensive are not the same thing! The Brits, with all their defects, are quite honest people. Exceptions exist of course!

a.camilleri

Aug 18th 2009, 18:27

we have been living in malta for 9yrs now and i still tell my british wife to keep her mouth shut when we are shopping at places where they dont know us, i even ask the price when she wants to buy underwear never mind a bottle of water,

Patrick Camilleri

Aug 18th 2009, 18:20

I don't condone this sort of behaviour, but unfortunately Graham this doesn't only happen in Malta.

On my first trip abroad I was caught out in France and the UK . You get these people everywhere. I still remember the small fortune I was charged for an ice-cream cone near the Tower of London.

It usually happens when you walk in a place and ask to buy some unpriced item.

I've learnt that wherever you go you have to check the price of something BEFORE you buy it not after.

In France I once checked the prices before entering the restaurant but hadn't checked the price of soft drinks. At the end of the day the colas the children drank cost us twice what the food cost!.

Though it would be nice, is rather naive to think you can go to a restaurant anywhere in the world and not check your bill.

You clearly have learnt from experience ....... you should give your daughter and her friends a few tips .....they will serve them well in their travels in the future.

PS: I trust you have taken action to protect future customers and reported the offending outlets to the Authorities?

michael fenech

Aug 18th 2009, 18:07

@ Graham Holme,

How true it is, I’m also here on holidays, everything seems to be over priced and a lot of time the service is not even there. Since the price of cooking gas went up to Euro 10. 50. I noticed that a lot of restaurants are printing new menus and the prices are not going down.

Berys Said

Aug 18th 2009, 17:52

I have had several similar experiences in restaurants in Malta and Gozo.
In one restaurant I asked for a bottle of local house white wine to accompany my meal...when I got the bill they charged 24 Euros for the wine. It was very good wine and local and maybe I was naiive - but I only planned on paying around 7-10 Euros.
Several other restaurants have added drinks to my bill that I didn't have, in the hope that I don't notice. I hope this practise stops as I might run out of places to go. I do feel as if, as a foriegner I am being taken advantage of.

M. Fenech

Aug 18th 2009, 17:47

Mr. Holme,
If you have the details of these 2 shops, you should pass them on to MTA offices and i am sure that they will take action on your feedback.
We, as Maltese, should be really ashamed that fellow Maltese are ruining our reputation with tourists when they try to "cheat" in change or double-charging on purpose. These 2 outlets should be named and shamed ... maybe one day, we learn how to make business with tourists.
Thanks Mr. Holme, for writing about your incident and to have the courage to go back and demand money. Imagine, how many did not bother to go back to these outlets and even worse, not return to our island. These 2 outlets have no idea how tourism effects them positively and how the ripple-effect in our economy is impressive. All they are looking at, is to make a quick buck! Nothing else, just monkeys!

J. Schembri

Aug 18th 2009, 17:44

I agree with you 100% Mr.Holme. I am a Maltese national and live here together with my partner who is British. A typical price abuse on foreigners was shown last Saturday at the Gudja Band Club when he was charged Eur 5 for a can of local beer, two soft drinks and a small bottle of water. We felt ripped off as we just came back from one week's holiday from Corfu and a 1 litre of Bottled water from the mini bar of a 3 star hotel was 50 euro cents. How can Malta ever attract tourist when"precious tourists" are robbed in their faces.

Brian Maloret

Aug 18th 2009, 17:43

Graham Holme

Couldn't agree more, I've lived in Bugibba for nearly three years and as much as people know me they still try to rip me off. The fruit and vegatable stall owners are the worst and when you pull them up about it they accuse you of being aggressive. If it were to happen to the Maltese living in the UK, which it wouldn't, they would be screaming discrimination/racism. Are all the Maltese that desperate for an extra buck or two.

David wain

Aug 18th 2009, 17:39

@ Graham Holme, maybe you should teach your daughter to check the receipt and her change.

C Cassar

Aug 18th 2009, 17:39

@ Graham Holme: Firstly, isn't your daughter capable of checking the bill for her self? As for being ripped-off, the UK is well known as the centre of Europe for that. Everyone knows the term "Rip of Britain". My German and Dutch colleagues have never had a problem in Malta and return year after year, prices are very good for them since they have the Euro.

I think your problem is sour grapes over your pitifully week currency - sterling, caused my complete mismanagement by your government and general greedy money making culture.

If you haven't realised, Malta is in the Eurozone with the majority of Europe. It's moved ahead and embraced the EU unlike the UK which isolates itself more and more as the years go by.

Enjoy your 'barbecue summer' :-)

M A Portelli

Aug 18th 2009, 17:38

Dear Graham, Unfortunately u re right - i would complain with Malta Tourism Authority with the details - Such commercial entities are killing the industry - MTA should impose hefty fines

Ray Buttigieg

Aug 18th 2009, 17:37

@Graham Holme i must say that you are right on this one. I hope some operators who abuse tourist learn from your words. However I am sure the the vast majority of operators in the tourism sector are honest and fair. But yes there are the stupid ones who ruin all the hard work and effort of the honest business man. I also wish that the experiences you mentioned do not happen to others.

Graham Holme

Aug 18th 2009, 17:24

A surge of bookings from the U.K?
Great lads,make sure all these tourists are well and truly ripped of,so much so,that they vow never to return,
My daughter,came to Malta for a weeks holiday,a slice of Melon,a few Strawberries ,and a bag of Cherries ,charged her 24 euros,I of course ,took them straight back into the shop,demanded her money back"sorry i make a mistake" yep sure you did
Then,her and a friend went for a meal out in Buggiba,,I went to pick them up,64 euros,when I checked the bill,tried to charge them for beer,drinks etc,they had never had,the real cost 36 euros
All the Maltese complaining about being overcharged etc in Gozo,and vowing never to return,well now you know how it feels, to have a taste of your own medicine