The above-mentioned was the subject discussed during a business breakfast organised by The Malta Business Weekly on Thursday, 14 May, which I attended as the representative of the Union Haddiema Maghqudin, being the secretary of the Tourism, Food and Beverages Section of the UHM.
All those present appreciated very much both the keynote speeches delivered by Adrian Said and Mario de Marco, Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism.
Unfortunately there was very little time for interventions from the floor, and in fact, from a very well attended audience, only three persons had the opportunity to give their contribution. I am sure that there were many others like myself who wished to air their views as well.
So if I may, I would like to share these views with your readers.
Something that really struck me was the fact that the word “employee” was not mentioned one single time in all the five contributions. In the present critical scenario in our tourism industry, the employees are the first casualties. We keep hearing about high percentages of “payroll costs” and how these have to be slashed. One has to be careful here because this is a vicious circle.
Lowering “payroll costs” percentages will make room for inferior services rendered to clients by the hoteliers and others in this sector. This in turn will destroy our competitiveness as we will not be able to offer “value for money” to both our tourists and Maltese alike. Whatever decision is taken, the employee should be in the centre of that decision.
Speaking about “value for money”, the UHM has always stressed both with the operators in the industry and even with the government the need to ensure that Malta gives exactly that to our clients. But it is not always the case. If one goes back a few years, just after Malta joined the European Union, the end of the levy on foreign wine was not reflected in the prices to the customer. On the other hand, as far as Maltese wine is concerned, buying a bottle of wine in a restaurant costing e25 which from a supermarket is usually bought for e8.75 is a bit too much – it amounts to a 285 per cent gross profit on the wine only.
Before joining the European Union we were already importing very good Italian pasta in Malta. At that time we were buying this pasta from the supermarkets at an average price of e1.16 per half kilogramme. After joining the EU that price fell to an average of e0.50 per half kilogramme. The thing is that the price of a plate of pasta from any restaurant in Malta did not go down. Since last year pasta prices went up again due to the global cereal crisis.
A few years ago, when one could buy beef fillets from the butcher shop for e20 per kilo, hotels and restaurants were selling a 200 gramme portion of beef fillet for the same e20, a 500 per cent gross profit on the main course only.
No wonder why, in his research, Mr Said found out that a three-course meal in Malta is by far more expensive than in other destinations which are competitors of ours. “Value for money” was never our forte.
Mr Said mentioned also the +160 per cent hits on the internet for Istanbul. This means that more people are showing interest in Turkey as a holiday venue. Even Philip Fenech from the GRTU made reference to Turkey in the article entitled May and June tourism figures ‘not good at all’ (TMBW, 14 May)
Malta is a non-starter when compared with Turkey and we cannot compare the two countries. Even with the deteriorating conditions of work offered in the hotels and restaurants sector in Malta, we are far better off with regard to the conditions of work in this country. This makes Turkey very cheap and not just cheaper than Malta. How on earth can you offer a 7* service for a week-long stay in a hotel in Turkey for just e15 per day, as was mentioned in the above-mentioned article?
We can never match that unless our employees start working for seven days a week, maybe 10 hours per day, for free and without vacation leave and public holidays...
Lino Vassallo Dip. Social Studies (Industrial Relations) is Section Secretary, Tourism, Food and Beverages Section, Union Haddiema Maghqudin
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