Loud and repeated cheers could be heard coming from behind the closed doors of the Corinthia San Gorg on Friday where MHRA was holding an extraordinary general meeting.

Once the meeting was over, however, and members came out to meet the sole journalist door-stepping the EGM (not me), they became coy about what they were cheering about.

For the record, they could only speak about low cost airlines. Off the record they spoke about the resignation of Romwald Lungaro-Mifsud as chairman of MTA, about which they were, once they were off the record, jubilant.

On record, MHRA chairman Justin Zammit Tabona told this newspaper: “The main task of the meeting was to update members on initiatives taking place as regards low-cost carriers, where MHRA is making a concerted drive. It is felt across the sector that bringing in low cost carriers is the only way the terrible state of Malta’s tourism sector can be improved.

“Low cost carriers, at the same time, are only a part of the overall solution needed by the industry. We are moving ahead on this issue but there is still much work to be done. Tourism is undoubtedly facing certain difficulties – as shown by the last and preceding MHRA quarterly surveys and NSO figures – which have shown what the industry has been saying all along – that there has been a substantial drop in business across the board. Tourism numbers have remained at the same level in the last decade.”

Off the record, however, other MHRA members were scathing about Mr Lungaro-Mifsud. Sources told this newspaper that Mr Lungaro-Mifsud’s resignation was indeed discussed during the EGM and MHRA will be making a statement about it in the coming days because it did not want to confuse the two issues.

Pressed, some MHRA members described the “Mission Accomplished” statement as “ridiculous bullshit”. “How can he say that the mission has been accomplished when the restructuring exercise at MTA is far from being completed and tourism numbers have remained stagnant despite the government’s self-imposed commitment to raise them?”

According to a report by Kurt Farrugia on maltaStar, the EGM has given the government, and specifically Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech, three weeks to come up with clearance for low-cost carriers. Otherwise, another EGM will call for the minister’s resignation.

There does exist some agreement on the introduction of low-cost carriers but hoteliers are now saying that 20 low cost flights a week will not be enough to fill the empty beds and increase the number of bed nights from the current 10 million figure, which has been static for years, to 15 million. Low cost airlines can open up new routes and they can also boost the UK, Ireland and Germany routes where the tour operators are in decline.