I recently presented an award to the first tourist accommodation in Malta to obtain the EU Eco-label registration. This award to Hilton Malta also coincided with the end of Malta Environment Management Systems EU-funded project. This project, which covered both EMAS and EU Eco-label schemes, was very well attended.

A recent report published by the European Commission states that tourism in Europe employs eight million people. Through the eight million people directly employed in the EU tourism sector, tourism’s direct contribution in terms of jobs is particularly significant – especially in tourism-intensive economies like ours. Tourism also has an important effect on employment in related services. It is seen as a major opportunity for job creation over the coming years, particularly in less-developed and peripheral regions.

In structural terms, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in the tourism industry. European tourism is largely a SME-dominated sector, with over 99 per cent of firms employing fewer than 250 individuals. These contribute significantly to member states’ GDP. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) forecasts 717 million cross-border tourist arrivals in Europe by 2020.

So what are going to be the challenges for the competitiveness of SMEs in this sector? Definitely, more focus on quality assurance can be expected. The three most important enablers for increased SME competitiveness are: (i) quality of service; (ii) customer knowledge; and (iii) follow-up of complaints.

As a result of a better integration of the tourism market, matching different quality levels will become more important for SMEs in the future. It is likely that additional self-regulation or legislation will be defined in order to guarantee to the consumers adequate safety standards, health standards and environmental standards among others. But it is fair to state that all companies have to take those measures that could positively impact on the quality of the service. Quality is the most important enabler for customer satisfaction and therefore should be dealt with in a proper manner. In this sector, the Malta Standards Authority plays an important role and you should be familiar with the vast remit that the authority covers.

Without any doubt, environmental issues will also be more prominent in the future. Environmental care is already a top priority for the major players in the tourist accommodation market. These companies have understood the marketing potential of environmental care for their businesses. Next to the price and quality offered, consumers tend more and more to consider the environmental effort of the company as a determination of choice.

It is beyond dispute that, in the future, consumers will strongly prefer operations that take environmental issues seriously. Currently, SMEs consider that these issues are less important, but the trend towards higher awareness is taking place. Based on a field survey conducted by Price Waterhouse Coopers in 2001, the tourist accommodation sector has proven to be a pioneer with the use of reusable products.

One way that tourist accommodations can show their environmental commitment is through environmental labelling. Environmental labelling or eco-labelling is a means of identification through the use of labels that the product or service bearing the label is environmentally friendlier to relative products or services in the same category.

These labels granted by the National Competent Body to voluntary applicants from enterprises, are conceived as a market-oriented instrument for environmental policy.

The EU Eco-label scheme was launched in 1992 to encourage the production and consumption of green products at a European level.

The same “flower” logo is used across different product groups and member states, making it easier to recognise products with a superior environmental performance. This helps to avoid distortions of competition and ensures the protection of the interests of producers and consumers.

Benefits stemming from eco-label certification can be numerous, not only for the customers but also for the organisation itself.

I congratulate Malta Hilton for this achievement and I am looking forward that other tourist accommodations obtain this prestigious award.

Censu Galea is Competitiveness and Communications Minister