Occupancy levels in hotels in the first three months of this year were higher than those obtained in the corresponding period in 2004. Yet this positive note was not complemented by revenue, as hoteliers reported increased losses in the same period. The worst off were hotels in the five-star category, which between them registered a staggering 19 per cent increase in losses.

This is largely a result of the added costs that hotels have had to bear since the beginning of the year, the report presented by Deloitte last week indicated.

For example, while the increase in occupancy helped the four-star category to register an income which was eight per cent higher than that reached in 2004, losses from operating costs still increased by five per cent. The five-star hotels registered a fall in income of 0.6 per cent, and this contributed to their losses rising so much.

Considering that, this year, Easter occurred in the first quarter of the year – and therefore it should have helped boost the figures – the situation is one of concern. What is worse is that Malta had the lowest occupancy and lowest room rate when compared to competitors Cyprus, Costa del Sol, Mallorca and the Canary Islands.

What is wrong with our tourism industry?

We cannot continue to hide behind the 11 September 2001 aftermath which, after all, affected every country, not only Malta. So how come tourism is recovering in other countries, while Malta lags behind?

The Tourism Ministry will say that the number of tourists who visited Malta last year went up by three per cent. But are the prospects for the future good? Are the tourists who come to Malta spending more? Do they get value for money when they come here? Will they come back or at least encourage their relatives and friends to come over?

Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association president Justin Zammit Tabona summed it up very well in his comments about the Deloitte survey. “This proves that so much remains to be done to improve ‘product Malta’ and its marketing overseas…We cannot afford to sit still.”

It has frequently been said that while hotel services are top quality, once tourists leave their hotel, the quality of service drops a few rungs. Malta is not cheap either, and several other nearby destinations are offering visitors less expensive holidays of a better quality. The country is not clean, our roads are far from being perfect and Malta looks very much like one big construction site.

This latter issue, on the whole, indicates activity that is bound to eventually improve the country’s aesthetics but on the other hand, it does give the country a shabby appearance and, at the same time, one often wonders how long certain work will take to be completed.

The government has set itself a target of attracting 50,000 more tourists to Malta this year. Even here, hoteliers are rather sceptical that this will be achieved. And, even if 50,000 more tourists do come to Malta, it will not help much if they spend less and if hotels continue to register losses.

The government’s aim should be to attract more quality tourists, rather than to just go for numbers. It is better to have fewer tourists who spend more – and at the same time reduce the strain on our infrastructure – than to have more tourists who spend less.

At the same time, however, the package Malta offers to tourists must be of a higher quality, and unless we pull our socks up, identify the problems that exist and rectify them, we will not be able to achieve this goal. It is pointless to have top quality hotels without them being complemented by top quality service elsewhere.

Tourists do not just stay in hotels.