The government will soon be meeting trade unions, workers and the opposition to discuss a new plan to restore Air Malta to profitability and growth, new Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi told parliament this morning.

He said the national flag carrier had been making losses for 10 years and dying a natural death without anyone noticing.

The government and the airline were now working on a new commercial plan to make the airline fit for purpose.

Agreement on this plan would be sought with all interested parties.

It was important for the airline that its routes and fleet were increased, Dr Mizzi said, and an aggressive route development plan put into place.

The structure of the airline would also change, with the airline offering ticket only, full economy and business class tickets.

The organisational structure would be altered and some functions would no longer be considered as core.

It was only once the airline had been rehabilitated that it would seek a strategic partner, one that would support the airline's further growth, Dr Mizzi said.

Tourism growth in new areas

Dr Mizzi said his ministry would target further growth in tourist arrivals in the shoulder months. One way of doing this would be to further improve flight connections and frequency.

His ministry, he said, was targeting potential source markets in parts of Germany, Portugal, Spain, France, Israel and Russia.

The Malta Tourism Authority had also reached agreements for better promotion of Malta in Asia.

But such growth, Dr Mizzi said, needed to be accompanied by an improvement of the infrastructure.

He complained of shabbiness in some areas, and also said works which needed to be done at Valletta's entrance would be completed by January 1, when Valletta became the European City of Culture.

He said the ministry was also working on a new Tourism Law to simplify the granting of licences and also provide for the classification of boutique hotels.

Beach development - Chalet to Pembroke

The government, he said, was also considering public-private partnerships that would turn areas such as the site of the former Chalet in Sliema into beach leisure facilities.

Such development would also consider to other spots along St Julians all the way to Pembroke, which were all areas popular with tourists.

Investment would also be made in Għadira Bay to make it a top European beach, and in Marsaxlokk, Birzebbuġa and Wied iz-Zurrieq.

Apart from the St'Julian's/Paceville rehabilitation plan, action would be taken in  the short term to spruce up the area.

Dr Mizzi said Malta was having a problem with its own tourism success in that conference travel organizers were encountering problems because hotels were booked. Efforts were being made to solve this problem.

Dr Mizzi insisted that tourism operators needed to engage staff who did not harm the industry. Abuses, he said, would not be tolerated.

In his speech Dr Mizzi paid tribute to his predecessor Edward Zammit Lewis, for having helped grow the tourism industry.

Air Malta recruitment

Tourism Shadow Minister Robert Arrigo said this morning that rumours were rife that a large number of employees had been engaged by Air Malta or had seen their contracts changed from part-time to full-time before the election.

But the claims, made during the parliamentary debate on the Malta Tourism Authority's estimates, were later denied by former Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis, who said the only recruitment made was for seasonal needs.

Mr Arrigo said that generous early retirement packages had also been offered to long-time employees at the airline. Those with 20 years of service could opt for a golden handshake of €100,000, and those with 25 years of service, for €130,000. He said that it was right that the workers be compensated fairly for their work, but added that he hoped that all of the airline’s workers would benefit.

Air Malta, he said, had wasted the past four years, and several good proposals by the opposition had been ignored. Talk of trust fund investment in the airline before the election did not bode well, as trust funds were bought and sold and would not have the good of the company at heart.

Talk of trust fund investment in the airline before the election did not bode well, as trust funds were bought and sold and would not have the good of the company at heart.

It was essential in any case that the airline remained Maltese-owned. The airline could have a better future, he said, but it was imperative that nobody lose their job.

Turning to other sectors, he referred to the 50 euro cent nightly eco-contribution levied on tourists and asked how much money had been raised from it. He was glad to see that embellishment and regeneration works using these funds had already started, but what other works were planned?

He insisted that Malta needed to be cleaner. Seemingly peripheral things like signage needed to improve if the quality of the product offered tourists was to improve.

Mr Arrigo also made reference to pressure being exerted by the two main operators of open-top buses in Malta, who wanted to see the 10-year lifespan of such buses increase to 15 years. He said this type of lobbying must end.

He questioned whether the fast ferry service to Gozo mentioned in the President’s address would become a reality, and whether the tender issued for this would be set on a level playing field or tailor-made to favour a particular operator over another.

Dr Zammit Lewis said Air Malta had engaged temporary staff to cater for seasonal traffic.

He also denied that the Labour government had squandered four years as far as the national airline was concerned. He said losses decreased from €31 million in 2013 to €16.2 in 2014 to €4.2 last year. Fleet optimisation meant savings of €2.2 million a year, IT and catering contract revisions saved €7 million.

Steep increase in arrivals

He said that tourist arrivals seasonality had stabilised and between January and April this year, tourists increased by 23 per cent. The UK market increased by 25.5 per cent, Italy by 24 per cent, Germany by 28 per cent and France by 24 per cent. 88 per cent of tourists in the first four months of 2017 came from European markets . More must be done to attract tourist from long-haul markets.

There was also a shift in age groups: 28 per cent were under 24 and 35 per cent were between 25 and 44 years old. Malta was not an old peoples’ market any more and hence the importance of more events.