Last week, the Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, Mario de Marco, made it a point to encourage the owners of two- and three-star hotels to upgrade their establishments and services.

He was speaking at the Mediterranean Conference Centre as he presided over the third call of the Grant Scheme for Sustainable Tourism Projects, which will see the allocation of €10 million for refurbishment purposes. The money is co-financed by the EU’s Regional Development Fund.

Dr de Marco was correct to say that the hotels in these two categories need a major facelift. Over the years, it seems that there was a bigger focus on the building of five- and four-star hotels, and there was a tendency to forget that a good percentage of our visitors would want to stay in lower-category establishments.

It must be remembered that although in more recent years the government has worked hard to attract high quality tourists for conference and business travel, there are many individuals and families who do not have the means for five-star accommodation, but who would be willing to spend a few days of holiday in a hotel that they can afford. Even they deserve to receive the best services possible.

Considering that one third of the bed-stock, as Dr De Marco said, is made up of hotels in these categories, it is imperative that they upgrade their standards (within their level) so as to be able to remain competitive.

Tourists who want to stay in two or three star hotels but who know – either by word of mouth, or through the experience of friends, or even their own – that our hotels in those categories do not offer value for money will probably opt for other destinations.

“We are still lagging behind other countries,” Dr de Marco said when he spoke about the current services being offered in these hotels. This is why these entrepreneurs would do well to apply to take up the offer being made so as to be able to rehabilitate their property and improve their services.

There are various initiatives that could be taken up by these types of hotels, such as the provision of entertainment facilities like games rooms or gymnasiums, or the building of indoor and outdoor pools.

By providing services that are not necessarily found in all hotels of these categories, such establishments would be offering their clients more than they would have bargained for.