The findings of a survey recently commissioned by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association indicate that Malta’s tourism industry performance showed one of the best recoveries in the region in 2004.

The survey showed that Malta had the highest gain in occupancy rates and the second highest improvement in room rates. This is, when linked to the Malta Tourism Authority’s projections of increased tourist arrivals, very positive. However, in Malta we do have a tendency of taking things at face value and we run the risk of losing our good work if we do not keep working hard at improving this sector. The survey highlighted the fact that several hotels closed during 2004 – a fact which will, no doubt, have bolstered figures for other hotels. Another issue which must be factored in is that average room rates fell by four per cent to Lm14.13. So what are we dealing with in reality? We have a situation where hotels closed, automatically boosting occupancy in others. In addition, room rates dropped to their lowest level in years, so the picture is already not as rosy as it at first appears.

Yet, there are positives to be taken, especially through the fact that we are expecting an increase of 12 per cent from the German market. This was achieved through meetings between the Tourism Ministry and the MTA and German tourist operators. Another positive can be found in the projected increase of Spanish arrivals by 15 per cent and the increase of 1,500 visitors from Austria and Switzerland.

However, one sector that might need more attention is the UK market. The UK has long been Malta’s bread-and-butter market, with large sums of money being invested in promotion and marketing in the UK. In fact, this year another one million sterling is set to be spent on advertising. Yet, despite the advertising campaign, we are only projecting retention of arrivals and not an increase.

Recently, MTA chairman designate Romwald Lungaro Mifsud said that Malta can only cope with about 1.5 million tourist arrivals per year and we are projecting arrivals of 1,208,000.

He pointed out that Malta cannot offer cheap holidays as it cannot attract the bulk market – in other words, we have to charge higher prices than other destinations. We must point out that if we do not raise the standards of our tourism product, we will eventually lose more potential visitors.

In fact, MHRA president Julian Zammit Tabona said that when comparing last year’s figures to the five years previously, it was clear that our hotels are still operating below their full potential.

We must continue to develop our niche markets too. The MTA is focusing on several areas that could attract visitors, such as diving, weddings and well-being holidays. But, at the same time, we must offer good facilities to cater for these niche markets. The diving sector has seen an improvement over the past years, for example, but we can do much more. Malta has some of the most beautiful churches in the world – perhaps we could market them better to attract even more foreign weddings.

We must also not abandon our bulk market. Our beaches, and access to them, need to be upgraded. However, we always overlook one important detail. People go on holiday to relax, they want to get away from the stress of their jobs and everyday life. They want good, efficient service and, above all, a smile. If we can succeed in upgrading all our tourist facilities and continue to give visitors a good service, then yes, we will continue to improve. But if we simply focus on material things, we might still see an improvement but not as much as we would if we focus on customer satisfaction. We must continue to explore new ways of attracting visitors, as well as polishing the finished product for their enjoyment once they get here.