Minister for Tourism Dr Francis Zammit Dimech and Culture, and MLP spokesman on Tourism Evarist Bartolo agreed on the need of introducing low cost airlines to Malta at a business breakfast organised by The Malta Financial and Business Times at the Radisson Hotel last week.
“We want to, I would say have to, open up to low fare airlines but in doing so we must ensure that we do not forgot long term sustainability for short term gains,” Dr Zammit Dimech said.
Dr Zammit Dimech explained that it is important to keep up with change. “Low fare airlines and internet are reshaping the way the industry works and we would be foolish to play ostrich and bury our head in the sand by pretending these changes are not taking place.”
“The viability of our tourism industry depends on our ability to have better and cheaper air travel to Malta,” Mr Bartolo said “It is important not to lose Malta’s competitiveness due to a lack of action or not keeping up with the changes in the airline industry.”
While “serious consideration” is needed not to damage AirMalta in any way, the MHRA is in favour of new airlines operating to Malta as they always benefit the countries involved, Julian Zammit Tabona president of Malta Hotels and Restaurant Association, (MHRA) said.
Mr Zammit Tabona called for more work and effort to boost the tourist industry. “The first two months of this year have not produced good results, and an aggregate decrease of 2.4 per cent was recorded over the same period last year,” he said.
“The time for talking is over, we must act swiftly and effectively as we need to catch up with our competitors next door,” he added.
Mr Bartolo said Malta needs a 10-year strategic plan, which must be implemented and not simply talked about. Malta’s competitors have drawn up their strategic plans and “more important than simply having them they are mobilising their human and financial resources to implement their national strategic plans to give their tourism a future”.
Teamwork and close collaboration between all the sectors involved was another topic that emerged during the business breakfast.
In order to keep up with the changing tourism industry, it is important to face the challenges and “act as a team,” Dr Zammit Dimech said. “These are not issues that can be dealt with exclusively by any one tourism stakeholder.
“Our future success depends not only on our ability to be excellent in what we do but in working together to achieve our aims,” he added.
Mr Bartolo agreed: “We can only succeed if we have a whole country approach and make a really national effort if we want our tourism to survive and thrive.”
“Working together is the key message here. We have to have a more aggressive approach to succeed both in the short term and more so in the long term,” Mr Zammit Tabona said.
“Malta has a rich cultural heritage, but we should not exaggerate its attraction,” Professor Lino Briguglio, lecturer at the University of Malta said. On the other hand, Malta should maximise its attraction as a sun and sea leisure area and focus on these assets when promoting tourism abroad.
“My point is that the competitive advantage of the Mediterranean islands lies in sea and sun and the thrust of our promotion should be on these factors,” Mr Briguglio added.
Mr Bartolo disagreed. He said Malta and Gozo should not be advertised as just “another sun and sea destination but as islands with a rich, cultural and natural heritage.” Other speakers also agreed that more emphasis’ made and more importance be given to Malta’s cultural heritage, with Mr Zammit Tabona adding that “our cultural sites need to be raised to international level.”
Prof. Briguglio also called for the enforcement of regulations in the various sectors which affect Malta’s tourism such as the white taxi service at the airport, the parking attendants at car parks, and the shabby clothes and rude manners of the horse-drawn cabbie drivers.
It is also important to manage the construction industry so as to minimise the negative impacts on tourism – it “effectively is too little regulated, in spite of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA),” Prof. Briguglio said.