The blistering attack on the Malta Tourism Authority by the former president of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) on Tuesday appears to reflect growing frustration in the tourism industry.

Hotelier Winston J. Zahra criticised the MTA for failing to start implementing much-needed reforms and for not sticking to the road map of change that it announced last year. His criticism is neither new nor unexpected.

Earlier this year, at a breakfast meeting organised by the Malta Labour Party to discuss its policy document for the sector, many of those present insisted that the MTA had promised much but offered very little tangible evidence that something was actually being done.

Hoteliers and tourism operators had said, quite strongly, that playing musical chairs within the organisation would not resolve the problems facing the industry. They further argued that time was running out and unless the MTA’s plans to brand Malta started soon, the island risked missing the boat in summer. The authority, a good majority in the tourism industry believe, is taking it too easy.

Surprisingly, the MTA has remained silent in face of such harsh criticism and it remains to be seen whether the authority will reply to Mr Zahra’s accusations.

For the past 10 months or so, the MTA has radically overhauled its structure and operations, especially abroad. At the same time, the MTA is working on a branding exercise for Malta. On paper, the changes make a lot of sense but with the figures from Deloitte’s recent survey far from positive, it is understandable that stakeholders are not too pleased with the way the MTA is handling such a delicate and important industry.

Notwithstanding the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in Malta last November – although it did have a positive one-off impact on room rates for the period – the three-star and four-star sectors experienced very sharp falls in occupancy of eight and 11 per cent respectively. Room rates did improve slightly.

Yet, as a whole, tourism increased by just over 14,500 visitors or 1.3 per cent, well short of the 50,000 national target set at the beginning of 2005. Apart from the five-star category, every major accommodation category saw a fall in guest nights generated in 2005. Rising energy costs also had an impact on Absolute Gross Profit per available room. This increased by 10 per cent in the five-star sector, one per cent in the four-star sector, but a sharp drop of 20 per cent was registered in the three-star sector.

It is fair to say that the shoulder months from October to December are always weak for business but the industry in Malta is not reflecting the trends in the Mediterranean basin. According to Mr Zahra, the average growth rate was five per cent but Malta only saw an increase of just over one per cent in numbers and reduced spending. The outlook for the first quarter of 2006, Mr Zahra said, “is a complete washout.”

So where does that leave the industry and the MTA? The industry can only hope that bookings for spring and summer will pick up. Hotels and restaurants will be forced to tighten their belts even more to ensure a decent operating profit.

However, and rightly so, they also expect the MTA to get on with its plans to restructure itself and to implement the reforms and road map that it announced last year as quickly as possible. The MTA cannot do everything and the MHRA’s members are aware of this, but at the same time they need stability and confidence.

And stability and confidence can only be achieved when the authority responsible for keeping Malta’s tourism industry is even more proactive than the industry it should be working hand-in-hand with. The least the MTA can do is keep the industry informed of what it is doing. According to the industry not even this is happening.