Stakeholders in the tourism industry should be regularly consulted by the government before any decisions on the sector are taken, Labour Party tourism spokesman Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca said.

She urged the government to carry out an analysis of the way any decision would impact the sector that was so important for the economy.

Dr Coleiro Preca was speaking in reaction to the Malta Hotels and Restaurants’ Association’s review of the industry’s performance in the third quarter of the year.

MHRA president George Micallef said that although the National Statistics Office’s recent figures indicated tourist expenditure increased exponentially, hotel average room rates re-mained below 2008 levels.

The figures for January to October put total tourist arrivals at 1.2 million, up by 13 per cent when compared to the corresponding period last year. Total tourist expenditure was estimated at €1,034 million, or 23 per cent above the corresponding period last year. Despite this, profitability was still down by an average 15 per cent when compared to 2007 and 2008.

Dr Coleiro Preca voiced her concern about the situation. The loss of profit in the tourism sector, she said, could lead to higher prices for services to the detriment of competitiveness, less spend on upgrading, loss of jobs and a drop in the quality of services offered.