Although New Year’s Eve proved to be a busy one, the mushrooming of leisure establishments meant that clubs, bars and restaurants faced fierce competition to attract customers, according to the GRTU.
“The overall consumption was good and some establishments reported very busy evenings,” Philip Fenech, the GRTU’s tourism, hospitality and leisure division president, told Times of Malta.
“But there is excess capacity. A lot of new establishments have opened in the last few years and from the permits, we know that yet more will be opening.
“Demand is growing but not at the same rate as the amount of investment. Competition has become fierce because there are more players in the field.”
It was therefore important that more tourists were attracted to Malta during the shoulder months to sustain such investments, he said.
Valletta establishments did very well this New Year’s Eve due to the packed concert at St George’s Square which was helped by the favourable evening weather and which caused a spill-over into neighbouring wine bars and establishments.
A lot of private house parties were organised. “This trend is on the increase and we can gauge this because takeaways and companies offering outside catering facilities did very well.”
Bigger parties, which got the benefit of marketing and advertising, as well as lone establishments that organised special parties with pre-bookings, also did well.
Another busy area was St Julian’s and Paceville, Mr Fenech said. However, he pointed out that four hotels were closed for refurbishment: the Intercontinental, Radisson, Baystreet Hotel and Hotel Gorgianis. “Leisure establishments near these hotels felt the impact in terms of the reduced number of tourists. Luckily, it seems that locals made up for the drop in tourism in these areas.
“I’d like to thank the police who kept a lookout in the Paceville area in a very practical way,” he added.
Business in Sliema was good overall, with certain ‘pockets’ such as The Strand performing better than others. There was a mixed scenario in Buġibba – some establishment owners reported doing well while others complained of a drop in business.
Meanwhile, five-star hotels enjoyed brisk business. “A noticeable trend this year was that the build-up wasn’t a very intense one,” Mr Fenech said. “In the past, it used to start nine days beforehand. People would book their tickets ahead and tourists would arrive a full week before the new year to spend the festive season in Malta. Business would start gaining momentum at the beginning of December.
“However, this year, most tourists came over for a mere three days. It’s a pattern which has been slowly increasing over the past couple of years.”