Valletta will soon be the European Capital of Culture, but the drive to improve things and to create activity must also have a long-term perspective. The Business Observer asked a few stakeholders there what they think needs to be done – and just as importantly, what to avoid…

Jankarl Farrugia

founder/director – Hotelogique

Valletta is experiencing considerable growth in terms of product offering mainly in the hospitality segment such as guest houses, boutique hotels and serviced apartments as well as catering establishments with trendy cafes, restaurants etc. In line with this growth the city needs to also market itself independently under its own distinct brand ‘Valletta’ and also as a niche segment under the brand ‘Malta’. Larger countries adopt a similar focused strategy when particular cities or towns have a unique selling point and actually are the catalyst for the country’s incoming tourism traffic. It is imperative to have a long-term strategy that goes beyond 2018. The city is already experiencing steady business growth, evidenced by the healthy occupancies and high daily rates across most hotels and apartments. This cannot be successful unless other activities and catering concepts are provided in Valletta, all year round.

Current new projects need to be vetted extensively not just on the development and technical aspect by authorities but also on the concept, aesthetic and design to be adopted – as well as the operational terms. For instance, it is useless having a catering outlet open in the capital city if it closes in the afternoon. With regard to the hospitality product, Valletta has seen a wave of guest houses, bed and breakfasts and boutique hotels open in the last two years with around 18 more to open in the next few years. A big jump from having just three hotels up till five years ago, to around 30 properties offering accommodation, excluding short let apartments! As an operator of luxury boutique hotels and serviced apartments myself, I welcome this investment but sincerely hope that each of these properties maintains  a constant good level of service to their guests as they are responsible for the rest of the city and island’s reputation. One negative review can harm all our destination, and being a small island, we suffer deeply.

Investors of boutique hotels and serviced apartments, that have no experience in running a hospitality business, should rely on experts to operating their asset. Companies offering centralised sales, marketing and management can provide them with the relevant expertise and in most cases also cost saving on the operation.

By having a substantial room stock and state-of-the-art venues in Valletta by 2018, the city should focus on attracting small sized but high end meetings and incentives. To complement this, Valletta offers charming conference halls and meeting rooms that are currently available and more space will be available soon in the city.

Finally a dedicated brand Valletta Tourism entity should be formed, endorsed by the Malta Tourism Authority and V18, as a focused marketing arm that promotes the city on behalf of all the stake holders.

Mark Borg Mangion

manager – Dhalia Real Estate Services – Valletta offices

Unlike other towns and villages around the island, Valletta cannot afford to have so many abandoned buildings. Many boast unique architectural features and historical significance. We must intervene by tracing the owners and making sure that historic architecture is protected, and the façades are cleaned and well maintained. This not only ensures the safety of passers-by but will embellish our streets and return Valletta to its former glory.

Valletta is also plagued with petty infringements like visible air-conditioning extractors, aluminium apertures and old wires and cables. These blemishes remain attached to stunning buildings even after their usefulness ends.

We see more conversions than major developments in our capital city but the high demand is attracting more developers and investors than ever before. We are gradually building higher and higher in some roads, reducing direct sunlight from our streets and making ground floor residential units too dark. In most higher projects, the new floors are constructed using traditional materials to respect the surrounding buildings, but the design is often too simple and modern, creating a big contrast. New permits could be coordinated with grants allowing architecture and art students to turn each construction into an art piece honouring the origins of Valletta.

As sponsors of V18, Dhalia believes in returning Valletta to its former splendour. Valletta is a unique gem in Europe. We must teach new generations what makes it so special by making use of unused buildings and making historical buildings accessible to the public. We must help investors take over unused commercial property, adding more life to the city.

Andrew Sultana

director – Ursulino Valletta

Valletta is being transformed from a former sleepy, dilapidated antique capital city serving as the administrative capital to an otherwise flourishing country, to suddenly becoming the gem of the Maltese islands. A sudden surge of private investment, together with the growing demand for luxury accommodation within the walls of the City, and last but not least the government-induced push in the run up to Valletta2018 – in five years the city has literally been transformed into a Maltese Venice-like historic attraction, with Grand Harbour and its majestic views being the cherry on the cake.

The success of Valletta is under threat from the unrelentless development of the rest of the Maltese islands into an over-exploited tourist destination dotted by endless concrete development – and hence the relative lack of attraction of the place for the kind of high-end tourists that Valletta could otherwise attract.

The main pitfall in the current course of the city’s development is the fact that it is being marketed as part of the overall product offering of the Maltese islands. Valletta is not Malta, as Mdina and the Three Cities are not Malta either – from a tourist-product perspective, there needs to be a clear distinction between the two.

The Valletta visitor, like anyone who would indeed consider the city as a potential home, is typically from a higher-income bracket, likes art and culture, values the vast history of the Maltese islands. It is by attracting more of these clients that we can make our capital more exclusive and more attractive, and it is indeed what Malta generally needs if it is to benefit from fewer tourists but with a higher spend-per-person.