The theme of the Hotel and Catering International Management Association conference held yesterday was Bridging the Gaps in the Hospitality Industry.

Various players from the tourism industry gathered at the Hotel Mercure in Bugibba yesterday morning.

Speakers focused mainly on the need for Europe, including Malta, to go back to the roots of the industry – to offer a good attitude and warm welcome to visitors. One speaker, Scottish Tourist Training Board chief executive Liz Buchanan, said that Europe had the slowest growth rate of all the continents in the world.

Europe had a growth rate of only four per cent, compared to the 5.6 per cent world average. Africa topped the list with 10 per cent, the Middle East came next with 9.5 per cent, Asia had 7.8 per cent and the Americas had 6.1 per cent.

Ms Buchanan said that the main drive for tourists travelling further was the search for uniqueness in a visit. She said that Europe needed to rediscover how to offer a unique experience as well as a higher quality experience for visitors at all levels of expenditure. She also pointed out that the tourism industry needed to address the skills gap in the fields of management, IT, language, catering, customer service and attitudinal skills. It was, she said, useless having a spotless resort unless it was a friendly one that made visitors feel at ease. She also said there was a need to address the attitude of IT graduates, which was caused by the current state of the hospitality business itself.

The conference was chaired by Bob Cotton, CEO of the British Hospitality Association.