Figures for June, July and August show a positive trend in inbound tourism and in fact hoteliers have reported that this has been the best year in six years, said a visibly pleased Francis Zammit Dimech.
Speaking to journalists prior to visits to several hotels, the Tourism Minister confirmed that hotels in all categories were experiencing improved occupancy rates after last year’s poor results.
Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association president Josef Formosa Gauci confirmed the trend, saying that hotels were fully booked and even turning down bookings. He said improvement could be felt throughout Malta, especially in Sliema, St Julian’s and Gozo.
Malta Tourism Authority chairman Sam Mifsud said that the UK market had increased by 11 per cent in the last three months, while the German market has grown by 33 per cent.
Dr Zammit Dimech said he was highly satisfied with the results and thanked stakeholders and hoteliers for their efforts. He stressed that these results had not been achieved by chance, but by crucial decisions, such as the introduction of low-cost
carriers, and he went on to announce that four new routes would be introduced in the winter.
The new destinations are Bremen in Germany, Valencia and Gerona in Spain and Stockholm Nykoping in Sweden.
Dr Zammit Dimech spoke about the positive effects of low-cost carriers, which by the end of their first year in operation will have carried 160,000 passengers to Malta. He added that this, coupled with new routes by legacy airlines, most importantly by Air Malta during the first six months of the year, has resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of inbound seats, thus improving Malta’s capacity. People were considering planes as taxis.
The Minister also attributed this season’s positive results to the Malta Tourism Authority’s marketing strategy and promotion and also mentioned the agreement between the authority and Media Consulta for the next three years. “This agreement,” he said, “will help us know how Malta’s promotion will be carried out in the next three years, as this will be carefully planned ahead.”
Another important factor in Malta’s rise in popularity was attributed to the cultural events that are being held continuously, such as concerts. Dr Zammit Dimech quoted organisers who said that a good number of foreigners have come to Malta for the concerts. He said he was now looking forward to the concert by Claudio Baglione, Gianni Morandi and Riccardo Cocciante which will be held later this month, as well as to October’s Notte Bianca in Valletta.
The minister said these results should prompt the tourism industry to have a positive outlook for the coming winter season and he maintained that he was cautiously optimistic. He also appealed to everyone involved to pull together for the good of the industry.
Carmen Zammit, from the three-star Hotel Sunflower in Qawra, said this had been the best summer since the hotel opened four years ago. She said the introduction of low-cost carriers had given a boost to the industry which was, however, still very dependent on tour operators.
Dolmen Resort Hotel general manager Alex Pace said occupancy has been more or less the same as last year. He said the hotel was trying to prepare for next winter by attracting conferences and he praised the introduction of on-line bookings as they allowed real time yield management according to the market.
This was in contrast to what used to happen prior to its introduction, when hotels sold their rates to tour operators 12 months in advance.
Trixie Van Der Kooim, sales manager at the Hotel RIU Seabank and Spa, said the general feeling in the industry was that tourism was once again booming. She attributed this trend to MTA’s efforts to bolster Malta’s international exposure after the closure of its offices abroad.
However, the best endorsement for the Maltese tourism industry was given by 11-year-old Tony Garafola, a guest at the Seabank. On seeing the minister and his entourage, followed by journalists, photographers and cameramen, he asked if he could speak. He said, in English: “Everyone should be living in Malta as it’s nice and hot, the food is exceptional and it’s a cheerful place.” He than posed for photographs with his side-kick, nine-year-old Daniel Patter, and a bemused Tourism and Culture Minister.