I first got to know Zoran – or Mr Lukinovic, as I felt obliged to address him for the first ten years of our acquaintance! – at a very early age. I was just about 20 years old when Zoran took over responsibility for Malta within Neckermann Reisen (today part of the Thomas Cook group), with whom he was senior Product Manager.

The deep-rooted and long-term love affair that ensued between Zoran and Malta was nurtured and strengthened over the years. In 1989 Neckermann were sending over just about 1,000 tourists to Malta.

When Zoran Lukinowic retired in 2003, that number had grown to 30,000, give or take.

To many people in Malta, Zoran’s passing on November 2nd, aged 65, will have gone unnoticed. However, for an equally large number of people within Malta’s tourism industry and hospitality sector, the news was greeted with much sadness, grief, but also with many, many wonderful memories.

Zoran was well-known by one and all within the trade for his direct and straight-to-the-point approach, as well as for his very strong sense of fairness. After suffering a stroke in 1994, I had called him in hospital to see how he was faring.

While bed-ridden, Zoran nevertheless made it a point to ask me to speak to Mario De Celis (then at the Suncrest), urging him NOT to accept a ten cents increase in half-board!

Due to the stroke he suffered, Zoran had to reduce the number of destinations under his wing. Nonetheless he retained Malta as one of his priorities.

And it was mostly due to Zoran’s immense love of Malta and its people that the company’s business towards the islands increased so significantly over the years.

On a personal initiative, in 2002, Zoran accompanied about 8 local hoteliers on a field-trip to Tenerife, to gauge the competition and see first-hand how things work there. This visit taught us all a great deal and was undoubtedly an eye-opener for us all. I also distinctly remember Joe Preca asking innumerable questions to each and every hotelier we met in Tenerife about the number of rooms, employees, operations, and so forth.

I learnt much from Zoran, as did so many of us. Zoran Lukinowic, though, was not only one of my principal clients but, also, my mentor and, I trust, a close friend who willingly accepted to be witness at my wedding in 2004. Zoran was a great man in all respects who will be greatly missed by the many hundreds of Maltese he came into contact with over the years. Although Zoran was responsible for nurturing the commercial success of many Maltese operators, he enriched us all in many more important ways – as human beings first and foremost.

Thank you for what you taught us. Thank you for the memories. Thank you for your friendship, most of all.

Samuel Mifsud

SMS Group

St Julian’s