Tourism workers thanked

Parliamentary Secretary Mario DeMarco this morning visited three hotels and a restaurant in the Sliema area, thanking all the staff for their contribution to a "positive year in tourism".

Accompanied by MTA and MHRA representatives, Dr DeMarco commended the hospitality shown by hotels and catering establishments.

"The best publicity we can give about Malta is when tourists, upon returning to their respective home countries, speak highly of their experience in Malta.

"The first thing a tourist sets his eyes on is his accommodation," he said, as he shook hands with housekeeping staff at the Preluna, thanking them for the service quality they provided during one of the toughest years the islands have seen.

Dr DeMarco visited the Palace, the Preluna and the Plaza hotels in Sliema, before heading to Barracuda restaurant in St Julian's.

Earlier this week, Dr DeMarco said the year was characterised by an unstable economic scenario and the introduction of austerity measures in a number of European countries, many of them Malta's core markets.

Despite such challenges Malta managed to outperform last year's record.

"Intense marketing activities by the Malta Tourism Authority meant that notwithstanding significant drops in seat capacity on flights, including in the summer months, passenger movements still registered substantial increases," he said.

The sector did well across a number of indicators. Guest-nights rose by more than 460,000 over last year to reach 11.6 million. The average length of stay decreased from 9.5 nights in 2006 to 8.2 nights in 2011 in line with international trends. However, tourist expenditure shot up to €1.2 billion, an increase of €112 million over 2010.