through the first months of this year, a report drawn up by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association for the first quarter has revealed

But not all seems to be well with tourism because, as the newly-elected association president Kevin Decesare said last week, the rate of arrivals for summer is slowing down. Another preoccupation is that the British market, for many years the pillar of the industry, registered a decrease.

Together, these two problems could dent the achievements made by an industry which is highly volatile and needs constant attention and forward-planning. Although there is still no cause for alarm, the authorities need to look into the matter without undue delay and find out what is going wrong.

Malta passed through some hard times soon after the 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. The tourism industries in all countries suffered the consequences, but Malta took longer to turn the corner and it was only last year that the industry picked up once again.

As people started to fly to faraway destinations and other Mediterranean countries became more competitive, Malta needed to take drastic decisions to change course.

The introduction of low-cost airlines helped in no small way for 2007 to be an excellent year in tourism, but it seems that this is not enough. Strategies need to be continuously updated and revised in order for Malta to maintain the results achieved and, if possible, improve upon them.

Mr Decesare has himself offered a few suggestions when he addressed the media during the presentation of the MHRA report for the first quarter of this year. For example, he said that the Malta Tourism Authority should look into niche markets in the United Kingdom that have not yet been tapped.

The good part of it is that other markets such as France, Germany and Italy have grown quite considerably to make up for the decline from the UK, while other smaller markets such as those of Scandinavia, Benelux and Spain have also registered improvements.

One further issue that needs to be looked into is the fact that the length of stay, on average, is on a decline. This makes it clear that most visitors are preferring shorter holidays – twice or three times a year – rather than one long holiday.

This in itself could be detrimental as they would on the whole be spending less money at their destination, and therefore the authorities must do their best to attract more visitors to make up for the deficit.

The amount of time tourists spend on their holiday and the amount of money they generate are important for the industry. And so if the tourists coming over are spending less time – which means less money – then something needs to be done to attract more visitors.

The MTA has been in the forefront to organise activities that attract more people to Malta, especially in the winter and shoulder months. If we are encountering problems during the summer season, which is normally the best period for the industry, such activities should be extended to cover the summer months too.

Added to this, events involving international stars that are normally held during the summer – last year was a memorable one in this regard and this season promises to be exciting too – should be promoted abroad.

Mr Decesare highlighted this factor when he said that “we need to give priority to the products we offer”.

Malta cannot afford to sit back and wait. It must continuously strive to generate tourism business through a strong promotion and, most of all, by offering value for money to the tourists who fly in.