New data from the World Travel & Tourism Council shows that in 2022 the tourism industry’s contribution to the global economy could reach US$8.6 trillion, just 6.4% behind pre-pandemic levels, and that as many as 58 million jobs could be created.

This expected rebound is great news for Malta where tourism and hospitality have played such a significant economic and cultural role for decades. But what would really happen if the number of inbound visitors to Malta did begin to climb back towards the pre-pandemic levels? Would the sector, and the country, be ready to welcome the 2.7 million visitors we saw in 2019?

The present answer to this latter question, from my perspective, is no.

Of course, managing increasing tourism demand is a highly complex issue covering many areas that affect capacity and in which I clearly have little or no knowledge. But one area that I am confident to talk about is human resources. People are at the heart of any nation’s tourism product and Malta needs people, fast.

Our clients in the sector are working hard to ensure they have the human resources they need to accommodate a growing number of visitors in 2022. There is clearly strong demand for every kind of role – cleaners, drivers, waiting staff, bar staff, kitchen staff, receptionists, accountants, executive chefs, general managers, and so on – the list is endless.

The growth and diversification of Malta’s economy in recent years has made it harder to recruit Maltese citizens for many of these roles and so, as we are all aware, many of the vacancies available in the hospitality sector have increasingly been taken up by foreign nationals. This reality is not going to change and so our focus at RecruitGiant remains on finding the best possible candidates for the jobs available from around the world.

Finding good candidates is a challenge, but one we are used to dealing with. Through our network of recruitment centres across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa we are able to find people willing and able to relocate to Malta. While it is a fact that we are competing against every other tourist destination in the world to attract talent, it is also true that Malta remains an attractive country for foreign workers, thanks to its good climate, working conditions and the fact that it is English-speaking. Our recruitment process also includes detailed interviews in the candidate’s home country and, where required, the provision of training before they travel to Malta. We also make sure that a contract of employment and all travel and work permits are in place prior to departure. And, unfortunately, it is in the latter that we are encountering the biggest challenge.

Dealing with bureaucracy is never pleasant. But we do understand the necessity to ensure the law is adhered to and that the rights of everyone, particularly those who are relocating to Malta for work, are properly safeguarded. But this, in no way, justifies the extraordinary delays that are encountered especially when it comes to the issuing of visas to third party nationals by some of Malta’s overseas embassies. This perennial problem has been compounded in recent weeks by the inexplicable refusal of some of Malta’s embassies to grant any visas to foreign workers.

While appreciating the intense workload being created, the fact is that if Malta is going to have a good summer in terms of tourist arrivals this year, it needs to get ready. In this regard, perhaps the time has come for the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance & Employment, together with all the relevant stakeholders including the MHRA, to come together and find a better way to manage recruitment of third country nationals for the hospitality sector.

Summer is just a few short months away and if we don’t act now, there’s a real risk Malta will miss out on the global tourism rebound.

Tomas Mikalauskas is chief Executive officer at RecruitGiant, a Malta-based company with more than a decade of international experience in recruitment, human resources management, payroll management and outsourced employment functions.