Gulia reappointed MTA chairman ‘after stern rebuke’

Gavin Gulia has been reappointed chairman of the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA), but only after a stern rebuke by a high-ranking government official and some straight talking about his role so far as MTA chairman.

His reappointment has been questioned by various tourism operators, who have told MaltaToday that the former Labour MP may not be the most suitable candidate for the job.

The MTA has now been operating without a board for some time, after the previous appointees’ term expired last month – unofficially, the vacuum was caused by serious doubts inside the Office of the Prime Minister about Gulia being the right man for the job.

A former tourism minister in the 1996 administration, Gulia failed to get re-elected in Labour’s 2013 election win.

A prominent hotelier who did not want to be names told MaltaToday that three issues about Gulia’s chairman were a source of consternation.

“His guidance as chairman leaves much to be desired, he must accept that he ultimately reports to the tourism minister, and he must accept that his is not an executive role.”

There is little chemistry between him and the long-standing MTA chief executive Josef Formosa Gauci: this week, Formosa Gauci confirmed that no board had been constituted at the MTA after members’ terms expired, with operations continuing as usual. “There is no board at the moment but the executive continued with its work as normal,” Formosa Gauci said.

The issue was flagged in parliament by Nationalist MP Robert Arrigo, himself a hotelier.

Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association CEO Andrew Agius Muscat said he could not understand why the government was taking so long to appoint the board. “We were asked to make our nomination last month and so we did. We cannot understand why the board has not yet been formally constituted and we cannot understand what’s causing the delay.”

Agius Muscat complained that operators have been “incessantly urging the government to review its strategy” including MTA operations.  “The sector needs a new vision,” he said.

Tourism minister Edward Zammit Lewis on Tuesday said the MTA board “might be appointed in the coming days… it might be today.”

The MTA board is made up of 11 voting members and of the chief executive, who is a non-voting member. Six are appointed by the minister on the basis of their knowledge and experience of the sector; one is nominated by the MHRA, another by travel agents, and another by Air Malta; and two others on the recommendation of associations representing other sectors providing travel and tourism services.

But MP Robert Arrigo says the situation at MTA was unacceptable. “A month has passed and the MTA is still without a board. This is illegal and without a precedent. Last week, parliament debated the authority’s financial estimates without a board being constituted.”

During the parliamentary debate, Arrigo insisted that things should only be repaired if they are broken: “The MTA is not broken. The authority was a success and the success enjoyed by the tourism sector was also thanks to the MTA. These persons should not be sidelined.”