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This week our tourism industry has certainly been put under the spotlight. The down-to-earth, angry outbursts of the former president of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association has certainly put the industry and most especially the decision regarding low cost airlines high on the political agenda. His frank interview in our sister paper Business Today set the cat among the pigeons.
We are assured by Mr Zahra that this winter was a ‘wash out’ and if remedial action is not taken our arrival figures will plummet to below the one million mark. Official statistics made public last Thursday by the NSO refute this message of doom and show that there was a slight increase in number of arrivals and an increase in spending. So where does the truth lie? This contrasting appraisal is the first thing that needs addressing. People need to be presented with the true picture. Accordingly, the government operators and the stakeholders in the industry simply cannot draw up their business plans and projections without authoritative and reliable data. The figures published by Deloitte, consultants to MTA, make interesting reading as they too show some positive and negative trends in the industry. Once the credibility of the national statistics office are accepted by all, including both the Government and the Opposition, the country needs to adapt a bi-partisan approach to tourism.
There is nothing ideological in this industry and by pulling the same rope we are certain that all the stakeholders will benefit. It pays to take a look at the massive benefits the country achieved in the financial services sector as a result of both parties working together. The government must also take a long-term view of the industry planning well ahead. The time for short-term solutions is over. We must think long-term and holistically and we must work on solutions together.
This newspaper has spoken in favour of low-cost travel to Malta most especially in the shoulder months. We believe it will increase numbers and place us on the network of the fastest growing sector in modern air travel – the low cost airlines.
What we are calling for is a decision.
But it also recognises that there is no single panacea for the problems tourism is facing.
Any argument that bringing in low-cost airlines will immediately solve our problems is simplistic.
Equally absurd is the argument that the arrival of low-cost will destroy Air Malta and scare away the other scheduled airlines since whenever the latter wanted to terminate their flights to Malta they did so.
The survival of our national carrier is in the balance with or without the arrival of low-cost airlines. Its survival is simply dependent on its capacity to compete, which is intimately tied with its running a lean an effective operation. Making Air Malta lean means also reassessing its staff complement. Therefore the survival of Air Malta must be looked at independently of low-cost airlines starting to fly to Malta.
Any decision which we have been assured is imminent should take into account the following realities.
These realities should be weighed dispassionately. Malta’s tourism prospects are marred by difficulties in the winter and the shoulder months where for all the available capacity the scheduled airlines simply cannot sell all their winter seats. This is a reality irrespective of the low cost fares available in these months. Hence the arrival of low-cost airlines may only bring more available capacity and not necessarily any more traffic in the winter months. It bears mentioning however that their arrival would link our country to their global web services and their very aggressive marketing strategies. Whatever the decision it is time to decide.
Our tourism plan should look far beyond the issue of low cost airlines. The plan needs to make the cleaning up of the country a top priority. It needs to implement an aggressive marketing plan where we advertise the country on the top international TV networks. The branding exercise needs to be completed as quickly as possible allowing people to understand in a few seconds what the Malta experience is all about. This should clearly highlight our unique selling points, which must go beyond the enjoyment of the sun and the sea. This experience must encompass a whole sphere of points including good service, friendliness, value for money and courtesy.
We need to invest in the product Malta concept where people consider a holiday here as an experience and not just a few days spent in the Med. There is so much still to be done.
It’s time for decisive action.
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