While welcoming the recent announcements by Air Malta to discount its tickets for winter, Ryanair’s announcement of an increase in its routes, and the announcement by Air Baltic that it will start flying to Malta from Riga, the Malta Association of Hospitality Executives (MAHE) said it believes the increased seat capacity will all be available in the summer months.

The MAHE said in a statement, “More capacity of seats on all routes is always welcome news to the local tourism industry and the Maltese economy in general.”

The MAHE said it was pleased to learn about the introduction of three new routes by Ryanair: Bergamo in North Italy, Liverpool in the UK and Gothenburg in Sweden and the news by Air Baltic that it will start operating from Riga, the capital city of Latvia as from March.

It also welcomed the news that Air Malta is reducing its winter tickets by 25 per cent, a move that has already increased its sales of over 5000 seats over the same period last year.

The association said it “would welcome further collaboration between all stakeholders to see an increased effort to see more arrivals in the winter months especially because hotels are reported to have an average 78 per cent occupancy between April and September 2012, with over 232,600 beds available, while during the months of October 2011 to March 2012, hotel occupancy is around 39 per cent with over 216,500 beds available, as reported by NSO.

“One has to note that besides the fact that during winter 2011/12 a number of hotels shut down, occupancy levels are still low even though most hotels offer extremely cheap rates. MAHE is very concerned about the sustainability of the industry in winter, which is why it welcomes Air Malta’s contribution of reducing its fares by 25 per cent this winter.

MAHE president Charles Martin explains, “While the news by Ryanair and Air Baltic is very encouraging to all stakeholders, the association welcomes Air Malta’s move to reduce its fares in the winter season. This move by our national airlines will surely help to see less seasonality in our arrivals. The association would like to encourage the government and MTA to increase assistance to airlines to bring more tourists in winter and helping hotels by reducing water and electricity bills and possibly reduced rates for fuel and gas which are used more in winter months.”

The MAHE maintains that increased accessibility is a critical factor for the success and sustainability of the tourism industry which is a major contributor to the nation’s GDP.

Mr Martin thanked Tourism Minister Mario de Marco, the Malta Tourism Authority, Malta International Airport, Air Malta and all airlines flying to Malta and in particular the managers and employees working in or hotels for their efforts to see this industry grow further and thus contribute more to government revenues, thus seeing more people benefiting through the tourism industry.