Employees working in the tourism industry were recognised by the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) at the Special Thanks and Recognition (Star) awards ceremony for excellent service and hospitality during 2013.

The categories varied from dive instructors and tourist guides to people working in the food and beverage industry. The Hotel Worker of the Year award and a special award were also given out during the ceremony to people working in tourism.

In his address, Tourism Minister Karmenu Vella emphasised the importance of providing an excellent service to tourists. Furthermore, he pointed out that success in tourism did not depend only on what competitors were doing to attract tourists or how the economy was performing, but on the level of service offered.

He said 32 per cent of tourists last year were repeat visitors, which implied that the service offered to these tourists was excellent. He said the Star scheme was important in that it gave a voice to tourists in nominating employees who give them an excellent service.

The MTA’s chief executive officer Josef Formosa Gauci pointed out that the awards have been organised for the past nine years, with around 6,000 nominations received last year. The authority sees each nomination as a certificate of excellence in the service being offered apart from a personal satisfaction for each finalist during the ceremony.

During the ceremony Francis Busuttil, director of revenue management at the Westin Dragonara Resort, was named Hotel Worker of the Year 2013. Annie Galea, an 81-year-old guesthouse owner, was given a special award for her professionalism and enthusiasm. These two awardees were selected by the Star committee, made up of representatives from the MHRA, FATTA, ITS and IoH, together with the MTA.

Six other employees won awards in their respective categories: Joseph Vella, barman, Seashells Resort, Suncrest, won a Food and Beverage award; Anna Azzopardi, receptionist at Maria Giovanna Hostel, received an award for Front Office and Housekeeping; Mick Burbeary and Mark Furnival, diving instructors, H20 Diving and Paradise Diving, were joint winners in the Sports Instructors category; and tourist guide Joan Gaffiero won a guiding award.

For more information, e-mail andre.arciola@visitmalta.com or visit www.mta.com.mt/star-awards.

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