Tourism students ‘at home’ with online learning, as Malta looks to the future

88% of ITS students satisfied with online teaching methods, Malta Tourism Authority forges ahead with ‘see now visit later’ campaign

88% of students at the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) are satisfied with the online platform being used during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tourism Minister Julia Farrugia Portelli announced.

99.1% of students are participating in the online sessions.

Farrugia Portelli praised ITS, citing it as the first educational institution to go online as quickly as possible, to ensure as little disruption for students as possible. 

“Working from home is not easy as it comes with a plethora of distractions, however, I want to thank both students and academics for their continued dedication to the field of tourism and for their patience during this difficult time,” Farrugia Portelli said.

ITS chairperson Carlo Micallef said the pandemic had derailed what was meant to be another successful year for tourism in Malta. “If one thing is clear, the pandemic has highlighted how important the tourism sector is for Malta, and also how important it is for us as a country to reassess the future of tourism on the island.”

Micallef said that it was important for Malta to concentrate on quality tourism, and that ITS produces students that contribute to the economy in a fundamental and positive way.

ITS Chief Executive Officer Pierre Fenech announced that all theory examinations would be cancelled and be replaced with a different mode of assessment. Practical exams, he said would also be cancelled, however, a recovery session would be held during September 2020. Resits set for June were also postponed until September 2020.

Tourism beyond COVID-19

Farrugia Portelli said that when it came to tourism moving forward, persons needed to be realistic – citing that the health of the Maltese would continue to be put first.

“The MTA already has strategies in place on how to deal with the aftermath of the pandemic, we are just waiting for the green light from the health authorities,” Farrugia Portelli explained. The tourism ministry is working closely with other ministries such as culture on initiatives, citing Heritage Malta’s recent announcement that sites and exhibition would be made online through a virtual experience.

Farrugia Portelli said this was an example of the MTA’s ‘see now, and visit later’ campaign, which encourages tourists to see Malta virtually during the pandemic but later visit in person. The MTA is also drafting a strategy for “the tourism of tomorrow” which would map out the industry in the post-coronavirus world. 

“As we normally suspend works during summer in these areas so as to not inconvenience tourists with jackhammers and so on, this could be an opportunity to do works that would otherwise be put off.”

Farrugia Portelli said she hoped the future of tourism in Malta would be based on those who spent more and left more in the economy.  

ITS measures for students

Current students

Theory exams: All the examinations for modules ending in the second semester will be replaced by a different mode of assessment which will lead to the final mark of each and every module. Different modules will carry different assessment methods as approved by the Board of Studies and the Programme Quality Validation Board. Students who fail these modules will be given the opportunity for a resit.

Practical exams: Practical modules, particularly those involving culinary arts, food and beverage service, and computerised accounting systems will have recovery courses to make up for the missed sessions during the month of September. The examinations for these modules will also be substituted with alternative assessment methods.

Resist: All resists that were scheduled for June 2020, will now be postponed to September 2020.

Local Industrial Trade Practice: has been postponed. For more information students are advised to read the FAQ page on https://its.edu.mt/

Prospective students

ITS will provisionally accept students studying at Matriculation level to ITS Level 6 programmes, depending on specific entry requirements. Prospective degree students are to refer to the ITS prospectus. All provisionally accepted students will have their status reviewed following the publication of results of the September 2020 examination session and subsequently the resit session in December 2020.