The resignation of Romwald Lungaro Mifsud as chairman of the Malta Tourism Authority last week came as no surprise.

What was perhaps surprising to many, especially to hoteliers, was that the reason he gave for his resignation was that he was leaving because his mission had been accomplished and that it was time to move on.

“We accomplished a huge number of tasks including the simplifying of lines of communications, putting people where they are most productive and going ahead with ongoing training programmes,” he said when he announced his intention to leave.

This may be the case, as the MTA has been extensively restructured over the past months. But the problem is that although these changes have been made, one cannot say that the results have been achieved. The restructuring process may have helped to give the MTA a new image, but so far the expected results have not been forthcoming.

The government set itself targets in terms of tourist arrivals. That of last year was for 50,000 more tourists when compared to 2004, and yet the increase was only of 14,500. This year, the government “expects” 100,000 more tourists, again when compared to 2004, and yet it is unlikely that this goal will be reached.

Official arrival figures for January to May show a drop of 1.4 per cent in tourist arrivals this year. The most recent survey carried out by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association did not show that things are getting any better.

In his press conference last week, Mr Lungaro Mifsud expressed optimism that the target of 150,000 more tourists in 2007 can still be achieved, yet judging by the performances so far this is not probable.

Of course, things might take a turn for the better if low cost airlines start to operate in the coming months. This is an issue that however has not been resolved as yet. The complications that have arisen over the matter do not point towards an easy

solution.

But, while an increase in the number of tourists would seem to be of benefit to an industry that has been in trouble for the past three or four years, one must also keep in mind what these tourists spend in Malta.

Even here, the figures that were recently released by the National Statistics Office show that there has been a drop in what tourists spend in Malta. So, the question is, should we be going for more tourists just to increase numbers, or should we go for tourists who spend more?

Just to give an example, is it better to have 1.5 million tourists who spend Lm100 each, or 1.2 million tourists who spend Lm150 each? It does not necessarily follow that the more tourists we have, the more they will be beneficial to the economy, and therefore one must do his homework really well before jumping to conclusions.

Private entrepreneurs have invested millions in five-star hotels but so far did not get the return they expected. The conference and business travel sector has not moved up as much as was expected, and this has inevitably led to complaints by hoteliers.

One problem that seems to be apparent is that while five-star hotels offer top class service in a pleasant environment, once tourists step out of the hotel they do not find the same level in whatever they choose to do. This has been said over and over again with regard to the environment, public transport and other services tourists make use of during their stay, and yet little, if anything, has been done to improve the situation.

The problems that the local tourism industry is facing, in particular because of the competition that has increased from both nearby and far away destinations, should be tackled immediately before it is too late.

We cannot afford to lose more time.