It was known all the way that 2009 would have been a difficult year for the tourism industry. The international financial crisis that hit the world late in 2008 spilled onto the past year with more vehemence, and it was clear that the fragile industry would have been among the biggest victims.

With people spending less, the first thing that was struck off the calendar was a holiday; for those with more spending power the number of days spent at leisure in a foreign land and the money spent while on holiday was cut, or else they did away with their second or third holiday.

With companies also spending less and having to deal with the credit crunch, the first thing to go was conferences abroad for their staff, while travelling expenses were reduced to a minimum too.

For a country like Malta, which banks on tourism as one of its main sources of income, the downturn in the tourism industry was bound to affect us negatively. Yet, thanks to the hard work put in by the parliamentary secretariat for tourism as well as the Malta Tourism Authority, the effects were more or less similar to those of our competitors. Considering that being an island is, in this case, a disadvantage, we should be pleased.

However, it must be said that the year that has just started will not be easy. The world is still licking its wounds and the tourism industry will continue to suffer the consequences of the economic difficulties each country is still facing.

In an interview given to this paper’s Sunday sister, parliamentary secretary Mario de Marco admitted that the tourism industry will still encounter problems in 2010. “The decline is slowly being neutralised and hopefully things will get better soon,” were the comments he gave.

Rightly so, Dr de Marco is being extremely cautious. He knows what the industry has gone through during the past year, and he knows that it will take quite some time for the record numbers achieved in 2008 to be repeated. What is important however, is that no stone is being left unturned for the country to absorb the current difficulties as best as it can, and at the same time prepare for a better future.

It is therefore heartening to know that the government is working hard to open up new routes to and from Malta. And, since the government wants to protect Air Malta, the new routes will as much as possible be in destinations not serviced by the national airline. This will open up new catchment areas for tourists who, until now, either have to catch a train or board two flights to arrive here. Having a more direct link to Malta will be a further encouragement to them.

Increasing the budget for advertising during an unprecedented year of difficulty was also helpful, whereas the news that, as from 2011, TUI cruises will use Malta as their home port for cruises in the east and west Mediterranean is also a big boost.

The work that the MTA is carrying out with local councils to encourage them to hold popular activities in the shoulder months will hopefully lead to the desired results. If people are taking shorter holidays, the only way that the number of bed-nights could increase is through more people coming over, especially in the weaker months.

Ideas to promote localities that are traditionally not tourist oriented, as well as the number of projects that the government has in hand to upgrade the capital city are other important ways through which more tourists can be enticed to spend a few days here.

2009 was not an easy year, and 2010 will not be easy either. But with a concerted effort from all the stakeholders, Malta could survive this difficult moment and re-emerge stronger once the world economy picks up again.