Malta's tourism industry is not expected to feel the Brexit pinch for at least a few months, as the majority of Britons planning to visit the island had booked their trip prior to their country's EU referendum.
This view was expressed by a number of operators and Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis at a conference about the impact of Brexit on Malta's tourism industry. The conference was organised by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association.
News of Britain's referendum decision to leave the EU led to a dramatic fall in the value of the sterling against the euro within hours of the referendum result being announced. The fall meant a more expensive trip for British tourists traveling to the eurozone.
However, both Air Malta's deputy Chief Commercial Officer Joe Galea as well as the minister argued that Britons were not renowned as being last-minute travelers, and that an expected drop in arrivals would likely be delayed.
On the other hand, university lecturer Alfred Quintano cautioned that Malta in recent years had already become a more expensive destination and that a Brexit might make the situation even worse.
Alpine Group Chief Investment officer Nicholas Zahra said this could be more of a shock than a crisis. He said that Malta's recent tourism successes had been driven by the political situation in North Africa, Middle East and Turkey.
Malta's biggest threat could come when the situation in these countries improved, he said.
MHRA deputy president George Micallef said Malta could be hit by the open skies directives which had brought cheaper flight prices.
The Malta Business Bureau's John Vassallo said that Brexit had brought about uncertainty in the regulatory framework of the UK and this might lead to an exodus of multinational firms from which Malta could benefit.
On his part, Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis said that the devaluation of the Sterling would not give a competitive advantage to other destinations which were in the same boat and also facing the same challenge. Malta was in touch with British operators to mitigate longer-term exchange rate effects through a focused marketing campaign, he said.
Dr Zammit Lewis said that Malta could also seek to maintain certain rights which British tourists enjoyed as EU citizens, through bilateral agreements.
MHRA president Tony Zahra delivered the concluding address. He noted that Malta's dependence on the UK sector had gone down from 70 per cent of total arrivals about 30 years ago to 30 per cent at present. However, he warned that Malta could not afford to lose its national airline, as otherwise it would have lost a major tool at its disposal to take remedial action in difficult times.