This week, I addressed a webinar hosted by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association. Entitled 'Re-Igniting', I thought the title of the webinar was very appropriate. 

Re-igniting is all about rekindling a flame that has been extinguished. This is what the pandemic has done to many economic activities, including tourism which many agree was the hardest hit.

Up until last February, we were facing a different reality: a reality based on 10 solid years of record growth.  Our challenge only a mere 20 weeks ago focused on managing growth.

The economic effects of the pandemic were not a classic case of a short-term crisis from which tourism bounces back quickly due to its legendary resilience. Instead, on the eve of a booming summer season global tourism went from full to empty almost overnight. 

Government has not been complacent. We acted for the long-term viability of tourism establishments and their most precious resource: their human capital.

We launched schemes to ensure company liquidity, employee retention and human resource development. We have been actively involved in a nation-wide effort to engage in product improvement to make our destination look even better. 

We mobilised our marketing teams to engage in campaigns to keep Malta fresh in people's minds and worked with our museums and visitor attractions to produce and distribute virtual tours of their contents, experiences and exhibits.

Simultaneously we engaged with our stakeholders such as airlines and tour operators to discuss the gradual return to business, while also working hard to tap into our small but relevant domestic tourism sector as a stimulant to the reopening of our tourism businesses. 

We have been very innovative in our approaches to stimulate demand and supply through the use of subtle marketing techniques aimed at enhancing our attractiveness, accessibility and competitive pricing.

Other initiatives that the Tourism Ministry and the Malta Tourism Authority will be taking to further offer incentives tourism traffic to Malta and Gozo in the coming winter is the launch of a promo campaign, driving engagement to VisitMalta's social media presence across the main source markets.

The campaign will ask prospective travellers to tell us why they will be choosing the Maltese Islands for their winter holiday and how they would spend €100 given by VisitMalta in our Islands.

Those with the most creative ideas, will be receiving a pre-paid card on their arrival in Malta.

On a global scale, tourism has suffered and a global discussion on the so-called normal has emerged. A normal based on principles of reduced numbers, slower growth rates, a greater emphasis on distancing and hygiene. 

We began gingerly. During the first 13 days of July we have managed to attract over 23,000 arriving air passengers.  This week our airport has opened up to new markets including our largest market the UK. A further 2300 passengers originating from Sicily have also travelled on the catamaran during the same period. The overwhelming majority of these arrivals were tourists. 

Going forward, we need to work hard to rebuild capacities and volumes in the most aggressive way possible. Our supply side is still under-utilised and needs stronger tourism flows to be able to operate sustainably.  Our focus between now and summer 2021 is to facilitate steady growth by increasing airline capacity and stimulating increased demand from our markets. 

The pause which the global tourism industry has faced over the past months has led to a lot of thinking and rethinking on the future of tourism. All levels of the tourism value chain must address these new realities irrespective of what growth model we go for. We need to ensure that tourism is rebuilt on stronger foundations, to enable a more competitive Malta and Gozo in the long run.

I'm confident that by working together we shall prevail. Through continued Government support, the unabated efforts of the Ministry and the Malta Tourism Authority and the hard work of all the tourism industry's stakeholders will combine to make Maltese tourism climb up again.

We did promise Malta a tourism summer and have started to deliver it. It is from these initial first steps and the courageous decision that we are taking that great distances will eventually be covered.

Julia Farrugia Portelli is Minister for Tourism and Consumer Protection