The Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) plans on moving to Smart City in 2029, the institute's CEO Pierre Fenech told The Malta Independent on Sunday.

The excavation works for the ITS site have been completed, Fenech added, as the institute continues its functions from Luqa.

ITS moved to the aviation park in Luqa after its site in Pembroke was granted to the db Group, which is currently constructing a two-tower mega-development there. ITS had filed plans for a campus near Smart City, which were approved by the Planning Authority.

Currently, ITS can host a maximum of 1,000 students. In its new campus, however, this number is set to rise to around 2,500.

The plans for the new campus were changed from the original proposal.  For one thing, a hotel component was removed, Fenech said. "I always said that the hotel was nice to have but not necessary, as we have 80 hotels in which students can train. But we will have around 500 dormitory beds on the campus."

In addition, he said that they also worked on trying to reduce the carbon emissions from the proposed building, also noting that "we are the first institute in the world who have courses in climate friendly travel. So it is very important for us to lead by example."

Fenech also pointed to a deep 18-metre hole that was dug on the site. This, he said, would serve as a diving pool. "ITS has an innovative degree, the first in the world, a Bsc in Diving Safety Management," he said.

Currently, ITS has three restaurants run by its students, in which they can put into practice what they learn, while at the new campus there would be four, one of which would be more of a coffee shop and for fast food training, he said.

The new campus would also allow the institute to introduce new courses which it does not offer today. "For example, we will have a spa centre facility able to train students in that field." The new building will also have an indoor sports complex, and the campus will also have a waterpolo sized pitch pool, which could also be used by the wider community, he said.

Fenech mentioned connectivity projects that are being undertaken in the area, noting work on the road behind Smart City, which will connect Kalkara to Xghajra. 

As for whether the ITS new campus at Smart City being out of the way is a concern for him, he said that with the plans for a new sea connection to Marsaskala, and the works on the aforementioned road, it would mean that the ITS campus is only 5-8 minutes away from Marsaskala and Birgu. There are also plans for shuttle buses from these connecting points to Smart City, he added.

Wider tourism sector

Asked about the tourism industry, Fenech said he believes that the biggest challenge is Malta's capacity. "In recent years we saw tourism numbers grow, exceeding one record after the other. Post-Covid, we were originally planning to reach the 2019 pre-pandemic levels by the year 2027, but the numbers skyrocketed. That is a positive in itself, but it also creates pressures on the country's infrastructure and on the manpower needed to service this sector."

Fenech said that last year, the country received a record four million tourists. Now, he said, is the time to start thinking about whether the country can keep on increasing tourism numbers, or if, rather, the focus should be more on value added.

"We can keep on increasing at certain times of the year, but at other times of the year we cannot, because the country would be stuck. So what we need to do is think about how we can get more from the tourists who are already coming."

Asked how the country could best achieve a move towards attracting higher quality, higher paying tourists, he said that the worst thing that could be done is to just quickly change direction. "We have to keep in mind that many people invested in this industry, which was geared towards numbers." He said its about bringing tourists who spend more.

"Tourists who spend more will be more demanding, so you need better services, better infrastructure, better facilities, better connections," he said.

When numbers were still not at maximum peaks, it was easy to say that people wanted to change, but difficult to implement, Fenech said. "Now that we have the numbers, and we are by far doing better than all our direct competitors, I believe it is the right time to take such decisions," he said, in reference to attracting higher spending tourists.

This can be best achieved by, among other things, improving service standards, Fenech said. Here, he mentioned the skills pass as being an example of moving towards such an aim. "We are not going to solve all the issues, but we at least have to have people who can communicate with customers. We had reached a situation where, when going to a restaurant, there were people serving you who you couldn't communicate with. It is now very rare to find such an issue."

Conference tourism

As for what economic niches could best attract higher paying tourists, he said that two of the most lucrative are the conference and incentive tourism niches. "The effect is felt across the board. Corporations not only spend money on flights and accommodation, but also on transportation, logistics for the conference, excursions and gala dinners."

Describing incentive tourism, he said that big companies organise incentive travel for top performers as a reward for instance. "Usually they would spend a lot."

As for what more tourism operators can do to move towards the goal of attracting more "value added tourists," Fenech said that for tourists to spend more, "you need to offer them the products to spend more on. Let's start with the airport. We should offer luxury transfer systems. We should also have hotels that offer butler services to clients."

He said that there are people who are ready to pay for these added services. "Operators need to think about how to offer value added as well." 

If Malta wants to attract more luxury travellers, he said, then the country also needs to attract the luxury brands, "and I believe we are slowly moving in that direction."

Turning to Malta's capital city, he agreed with the statement that retail is dying in Valletta. He said that there is no retail for luxury tourists to spend money on in the city. "They have the money, but can't spend it. And Valletta is the locality attracting high-end tourists, who stay at the boutique hotels operating there. I believe that there are tourists coming to Malta who can spend, but we need to ensure that they spend it here. In my personal opinion, Valletta should have high-end retail stores. If you go abroad, like to Milan or Rome, where do you see top brands? In the heart of the city. Valletta is attracting a lot of lucrative businesses, but it is missing retail."

Over-tourism in summer

Questioned whether he thinks that the sheer number of tourists in Malta puts off higher spenders from choosing the islands as a destination, he said that when looking at the islands in the summer months, the answer is "probably yes".

"But then look at where the biggest increase in tourist numbers is taking place, during winter and the shoulder months. When looking at the percentage increases, that is where the numbers are impressive."

Asked whether he believes Malta is in a state of over-tourism during the summer months, he said yes. "During certain months, yes. During a conference I recently attended, it was mentioned that a decision was taken to stop offering financial support for events in particular months, and that if someone wants to get help for an event, then they should be held in the shoulder or winter months." He said that this was a collective decision by the government, MTA and the wider industry.

Queried whether over-tourism during summer, and the uglification of parts of Malta due to the way they were developed over the years, could have a detrimental effect long-term on the tourism sector, he said "it can, but we have learnt some lessons along the way as well."

"Mistakes were made over the years. If you were to ask me whether we would develop Bugibba the way we did had we the ability to turn back the clock, I am sure that we would develop it completely differently. But the important thing is that we realise that we need to do something. Today there are ways and means to ameliorate on what we have, and a lot of emphasis is being made on that."

He said, however, that tourism numbers do show a different story. "Maltese people always say that Malta is not attractive anymore, but the tourism numbers don't show that. The tourists who come are very happy. We have many unique selling points in Malta - the heritage sites, our culture and way of life, and sites being so close to each other. When it comes to distances, having the opportunity to do two or three things in the same day, notwithstanding the traffic, is one of the best selling points we have."

Abroad, if you decide to go an excursion, that's your day, spending an amount of hours travelling, he said. "In Malta its different. You could be swimming in the morning, go to a heritage site in the afternoon, and in the evening be having dinner near another heritage site."

Asked about connectivity between Malta and Gozo, from a tourism perspective, Fenech says that the fast ferry service has been immensely helpful in this regard. "It can always be better."

The second part of the interview will be carrued tomorrow