Why do some of us have such a knack for killing the proverbial goose that lays the golden eggs? The peak period of the tourism season is well underway and there are high hopes among our business community that we may be leaving behind us the slump experienced in the last two seasons. But I see signs that some operators are still living in cuckoo land.
I recently came across an incident that confirms how some operators in the tourism industry have still not realised that fleecing their clients is not exactly the best recovery strategy for their businesses.
In mid-June a friend of mine went to his favourite beach facility in the north of the Island intending to hire the usual two sun beds and an umbrella. He wondered whether the owner of this facility would raise the fee of €9 for these facilities that he charged for the past two seasons.
The suspicion that his hopes for cost containment would be smashed became reality when he noticed some improvements in the form of new fancy sun beds and umbrellas, plus an external whitewash to the premises. On asking what the fee for the usual facilities was, he was told that this year he had to pay €25. Admittedly, the place looked nicer and less crowded with beach equipment, but the cost increase was not justified.
My friend just refused to be fleeced in this way and went to a nearby facility that still charged him the same rate that he paid last year. By the mid-afternoon of this particular Saturday no one was to be seen using the facility that raised its fees so heftily.
The government's decision to spend more money on advertising Malta is encouraging, even if I am a great believer that it is value for money that will ultimately convince people to opt for the Malta experience when planning their holidays. The Daily Mail recently reported that Tesco Bank conducted an interesting research on the cost of a week's holiday for a British family of four. The research excluded the cost of air travel.
The results of this research reinforced my belief that we need to concentrate more on containing costs in tourism services and of promoting Malta as a destination that gives value for money. It was disappointing that Tesco's research included places like Limassol in Cyprus, Bodrum in Turkey, and Ljubljana in Slovenia. But it excluded Malta. It seems that Malta is no longer on the radar screen of the British travel media.
The Daily Mail had a bold headline for this story: "The cheap getaway: it STILL costs less to holiday in Cyprus or Turkey than to stay in the UK". I am sure that tourism operators in Cyprus and Turkey are rubbing their hands having been given such effective free enticing advertising by this popular British tabloid.
We need to understand that the markets from where our tourists come are passing through even more challenging economic difficulties than we are. People are still losing their jobs in France, Italy, Britain and Germany. Those who are still in employment fear for their jobs. What one does in these circumstances is to be more sensitive to getting good value for the money spent for holidays.
Value is not only about reasonable financial costs. It is also about the quality of the facilities and the services given, the attitude of the locals towards visitors, the cleanliness of the country, and a myriad of other small things that make a difference between feeling satisfied with the holiday experience, or simply frustrated. I fear that we have lost our sensitivity to do what it takes to make visitors feel welcome amongst us.
There are, of course, many operators in the tourism sector that are doing their very best to make the Malta experience a unique and cost effective one to those who visit us. But it only takes a few incidents like the one I mentioned earlier to spoil this experience for many tourists.
We still do not appreciate the full impact of tourism on our economy because of the limited way we measure its dynamic effects. But we must never underestimate the importance of this industry for jobs. Many young people do not want to work in new economy businesses based on information technology and communications.
If we want them to find and keep decent jobs, we have to stop killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
jcassarwhite@yahoo.com