The traditional tourist season should be reaching its peak next month and the prospects are looking positive for the local tourism industry in terms of tourist arrivals according to the trends registered during the first half of this year.
Without doubt, it can be safely deducted that these summer months are crucial for the local tourism industry to maximise their return on investment and ramp up revenue to counter balance the lean periods during winter.
From a local perspective, the mid-August holiday will surely serve as a platform for Maltese to take a holiday abroad, or in Gozo. This latter region, however, has so far failed to impress with its performance during the first two quarters of this year, registering a downturn in business and profits. According to the latest communication issued by the Gozo Tourism Association on the state of business among various companies that provide a service to the tourism industry, including hotels and restaurants, a decline was registered during the first six months of the year when compared to the same period last year.
The tourism industry remains a pillar for the Maltese economy and hence its importance can never be underestimated. According to the latest statistics, the tourism industry in Malta is registering encouraging results but high costs continue to hamper profitability. Comparing the downturn registered in Gozo to Malta’s tourism sector, the decline becomes even more worrying as the spiralling costs are also incurred in Gozo.
It is a known fact that Gozo has its own particular characteristics as an island and depends on Malta for certain necessities. The tourism industry too is particular and has specialised in its nature to cater for a diverse audience with accommodation also including several hundreds of properties available for rent. In terms of tourist arrivals, Gozo also attracts a significant portion of intra-island tourism as Maltese spend many days on holiday on the sister island. Thus, a decline registered in business and profits could easily mean a downturn in Maltese visiting Gozo and should this indeed be the case, this trend should be analysed in depth to understand the reasons, since these are not explained in the statement issued by the Gozo Tourism Association, and seek ways to stem the haemorrhage.
From a business perspective, Gozo thrives mainly on tourism services and a further decline is bound to significantly cripple the small economy due to the significant investment poured in setting up a tourism industry over the years.
The fact that tourism business in Gozo is down when compared to last year, and the trends being registered in Malta, should set alarm bells ringing for the authorities responsible for this industry. This concern becomes compounded when analysing the downturn in profits registered during the first half of this year.
The summer months will provide a good indicator on whether the Gozo tourism industry will be able to survive the lean winter months. In the meantime an effort to market the sister island as a stand-alone tourist destination would be an appropriate consideration. Government had allocated a very modest budget for this very reason in this year’s budget and it would not be amiss to have a breakdown on how these funds were invested and an analysis of the effectiveness.