The general message to emerge from Malta International Airport’s annual general meeting, held yesterday at the Portomaso Hilton, was that the company has succeeded in keeping its head above water in spite of the “annus horribilis” experienced by the Maltese tourism sector as a whole.

CEO Paul Borech, while acknowledging that 2005 was a difficult year worldwide in economic terms, pointed to the fact international tourism fared considerably well. Europe, he claimed, registered a growth of one percentage point above the long-term trend of the region, and the southern and Mediterranean basin alone enjoyed an increase of six per cent in international tourist arrivals.

Malta, however, does not correlate with this growth, and still appears to be struggling to recover from the negative impacts of the immediate past. According to MIA’s chief executive officer, this downturn in tourism figures in Malta has adversely affected MIA’s revenue results.

Mr Borech pointed out that MIA’s negative performance may also have been caused by “several extraneous factors on the local scene,” adding that one could not overlook the 100 per cent increase in government departure tax midway through the financial year, which took its toll on Maltese travellers and on the national carrier, Air Malta.

“Indeed, we have gladly welcomed government’s declared intention to ease this tax as a much needed relief to the burdens imposed on the industry,” Mr Borech said.

In spite of the country’s overall negative performance, MIA has nonetheless succeeded in holding its ground in the face of a slight decrease in passenger movement. Mr Borech attributed this success to a more forceful approach in MIA’s marketing drive to attract new airlines and by encouraging the already established airlines to increase their frequencies and operate new routes.

“We have seen positive results in this regard with the operations of Britishjet, Centralwings and more recently Meridiana, all doing very well notwithstanding their offering low fares and moreover competing with traditional airlines on the same terms and conditions,” Mr Borech added.

Elsewhere, Mr Borech observed how MIA overcame the initial slump caused by the abolition of duty-free facilities. Ten new outlets have been opened since privatisation, generating over Lm170,000 for the financial year under review.

Mr Borech also outlined plans for future developments, including a new ‘cargo village’ on the airport site, as well as the fact that Malta Cruise Network, of which MIA was a founding member, is expected to contribute 20,000 tourists this summer.

For his part, MIA Chairman Michael Hoeferer described November 2005 as a milestone month for the relatively young company. This was mainly because the government of Malta decided to release a further 20 per cent of its stake on the stock market, a move which may also be interpreted as an endorsement of MIA’s performance so far. The offer had in fact led to an over-subscription, despite the fact that the price of shares was twice as much as the first time four years ago.

Describing the government’s decision as “a show of confidence”, Mr Hoeferer added that this confidence was further enhanced with the decision by Flughafen Wien, through its subsidiary VIE Malta Ltd, to acquire more than 10 per cent of the shares through the Malta Mediterranean Link Consortium, now holding 40 per cent stake in MIA.

“This acquisition further confirms VIE’s firm commitment to Malta International Airport and the implementation of its primary objectives for a more advanced development and expansion of the airport’s business plans,” Mr Hoeferer added. “Moreover the enhancement of the airport’s offer should in turn contribute additional improvement to the attractions of Malta as a hub for air and sea cargo.”

Among the desired results of this collaboration with VIE is a more professional consultancy on strategic planning, airport and aviation marketing, retail and capacity management, as well as human resource development, alongside the already established expertise afforded by SNC Lavalin particularly in the areas of cargo and freight development, project development and the cruise industry which is already taking ground.