The figures released by Eurostat yesterday regarding tourism are not so exciting when compared to the figures we carry on page 11 regarding the number of passengers using Malta International Airport.

The former does provide information about tourism in the EU 28 in general but the information regarding Malta is rather limited. Whereas the information given at last week’s MIA presentation is more pertinent.

CEO Markus Klaushofer presented the highlights of the past year: 4.031 million passengers – a 10.5 per cent increase over the previous year, and a slightly better seat load factor of 78.5 per cent.

Just a few years ago, one would have thought that Malta could not take in any more tourists in the peak summer months, but 2013 belied this with a 10 per cent increase in August.

And, even more significantly, the later shoulder months of the year saw even greater increases, proportionately speaking: 18 per cent more both in October and November and an 11 per cent increase in December, whereas January 2013 had only seen an 8 per cent increase.

Malta’s 10.7 per cent increase in passengers was a record among airports of a similar size: airports that handled fewer than five million passengers saw an average increase of 2.5 per cent, other, larger airports in Europe registered a 2.7 per cent increase and EU airports an increase of just 0.8 per cent.

Malta airport’s growth also beat all other airports in the EU that handle between three and five million passengers – with Rome seeing just a four per cent increase, Newcastle one per cent and Seville registering a huge 15 per cent fall.

There are some considerations to be made in this regard.

First of all the importance of accessibility. When the long and hard battle to allow access to low cost carriers was waged some years ago, it was an uphill struggle all along as no one wanted to be seen endangering the national airline. Since then, we have seen how the low cost carriers have strengthened the legacy carriers and specifically Air Malta so much so that they are now all registering growth.

The number of incoming tourists which used to plateau for years on end at around the 1.5 million mark took off and headed significantly upwards.

Secondly, the numbers have increased not just in the shoulder months but also in the peak ones, where we used to think we could not have more tourists coming in or that the heat was far too much to the tourists’ liking. Instead, August saw a 10% increase.

There is still much room for improvement, naturally especially in the shoulder months where the climate we enjoy is the envy of so many countries north of us.

There is also much room for improvement in the amenities tourists find in hotels and accommodation and certainly in the all around environment, from roads and streets that should be spotless to better driving on the roads, better public services, especially public transport and a more helpful and civil attitude to clients in general, especially tourists.

MIA, together with MTA, are working hard to attract even more airlines to Malta and to focus on more air links to Malta. As stated last Thursday, the focus for the immediate future is to multiply the links with Germany, which used to be a bigger market than it is now. Then, in the middle to long term, the focus will be on the Russian and Ukrainian markets where there is huge potential if we solve and get the tormented visa issue right.

Malta is now, has been so for some time, punching above its level. We are no longer the island with some beaches and resorts where tourists go in summer, on the model of so many resorts in the Med, from Greek islands to Sicily and the French coast. It has become a fully-fledged State, a member of the EU and a financial services centre with a cosmopolitan air and an upmarket feel all around.

We need to get our heads round this and plan accordingly.