Malta's strength is in being itself

by Anthony Manduca

The latest business breakfast organised by Le Meridien Phoenicia and The Malta Business Weekly was addressed by the chairman of the Malta Tourism Authority, Dr John C. Grech, who spoke on "The challenges facing Malta's tourist industry". The business breakfast was extremely well-attended and included among the guests were diplomats, journalists, hoteliers, travel agents, opinion makers, businessmen and company executives.

Dr Grech said Malta's strength in tourism lies not in being a resort, but in being itself. Malta, he said, will only face up to the challenge of its future if it approaches tourism as a whole, not just pockets of it. He told his audience what a Swedish lady who lives in Ireland told him some time ago after her first visit to Malta. She said many of her companions will not be coming back to Malta but she would because she likes the country. The whole of Malta, however, needs a facelift.

The MTA chairman said Malta is not a resort destination. It does not have resort towns. Malta is small and the tourists get around the island and circulate widely. They are in contact with the whole country.

The Malta product is therefore not a hotel, a resort or a restaurant but the entire country. It is the whole of the country that the tourists get to see: its heritage and culture. "We have all got to pull together," he said.

"Competition is growing, but so is demand. People abroad now have more, but shorter, holidays. They can go to plenty of new places. So what is there to attract them to come to Malta?" Dr Grech asked.

He said that so far we have been selling Malta as a sun-and-sea destination. "This was not the correct thing to do. If we do have sun and sea, so do other countries, and they have more beautiful seas and beaches, a better infrastructure and can handle larger numbers of tourists. What is it, therefore, that attracts them to Malta? We have to look more carefully at this question and must come to realise what Malta's strong points are," he said.

Dr Grech said that a number of tourists do not come back to Malta, but some of those who do are attracted by Malta's unique characteristics. Some tourists say that "Malta grows on you".

Dr Grech said the tourism industry produces 25 per cent of GDP and is responsible for 30 per cent of employment in the country. If we get 1.2 million tourists a year, he said, that is 1.2 million individual experiences.

"It is important that this experience is a positive one. If something happens and a holiday is ruined, the tourist will not return. A tourist on holiday spends a considerable amount of money, and would want his money to be well spent," he said.

Dr Grech said that this year the MTA launched a public awareness campaign which was divided into two phases:

a negative one, telling the people not to blow it;

a positive one: you must be a quality place because you yourself need to live in quality surroundings.

There followed a summer campaign targeting behaviour on the beaches, and dealing with such issues as cleanliness and noise pollution. More awareness campaigns are planned.

Dr Grech said there was no point in getting more people to Malta unless we bring about some important changes. The mentality which still seems to be prevalent in Malta is: "We are not going to see this person again, so let's overcharge him" and as a result, we will surely never see that person again.

"At the end of their holiday, tourists tell their friends about their holiday. If it was a positive one, they will tell people they had a beautiful time and their words would be a great advert for Malta. If their experience has been a negative one, they will tell their friends they were ripped off, and nobody would be encouraged to come to Malta," he said.

Dr Grech listed the studies which the MTA has commissioned over the past months:

The economic impact study which was conducted last year. This showed how important the tourism industry is for the country's economy.

The carrying capacity study: How many people can we host? How many tourists can our infrastructure take? This has led to the understanding that we need to focus on the economic impact of tourism, rather than on the quantity of tourists.

The third study is the strategic plan for tourism. This was drawn up following consultations with both people in tourism and those not directly involved. The objectives and challenges were identified and plans drawn up for the sector in the future.

Dr Grech said there existed a unique opportunity for both the private sector and government. "We need to reposition Malta on the international market. We need to have many more people selling Malta than we have at the moment," he said.

The mentality of hoteliers, said Dr Grech, must change. "Many of them are still happy just to have a contract signed with the tour operators. They must learn how important it is to market their hotel," he said.

Dr Grech said that the MTA is at present having discussions with owners of three-star hotels, many of whom are going through a difficult time. "Many of the hotels are too small to have an impact and need a new style of marketing," he said.

The four and five-star hotels must also plan their future carefully, he said. Five-star hotels must find their niche, which is the conference market, rather than become glorified resort hotels. Dr Grech said we must learn not to go for numbers in tourism; instead we must go more for more added value.

At the end of his speech Dr Grech answered a number of questions from the floor. Albert Mizzi, a leading businessman, said that we need to have a national approach to tourism. "We cannot have policies which change with every change of government," he said.

Dr Grech replied that the MTA Bill was passed unanimously by Parliament and that he holds periodic meetings both with the Minister of Tourism and with the opposition spokesman on tourism.

Mr Mizzi insisted that the country needs to have more visible and tangible evidence of cooperation between government and the opposition on such an important area such as tourism.

"Tourism must not become a bone of contention between the two sides. We must also stop being so interested in tourism numbers and instead become more interested in the returns from tourism," Mr Mizzi said.

Dr Grech agreed saying that it was unfortunate that whenever there is a slight dip in tourism figures this makes the headlines.

A point raised by Gianfranco Selvagi, the Thomson representative in Malta, was that Malta's costs were higher than in competitor countries. Package tours to Malta, for example, are higher than to nearby countries.

Many of the guests pointed out that a major problem facing tourism is the lack of a proper infrastructure in the country. Dr Grech agreed saying that there was a need for a better coordination between all those who were involved in the tourism industry. "Some time ago, MTA improved the facilities at a beach. It did an excellent job but when MTA called the media for the project's inauguration, there were workers digging up the newly-laid tarmac because of a water leak. The workers just kept digging the because they could not locate the leak," he said.

Another speaker referred to the recent deaths due to rough seas. He said there should be better life-saving equipment on land, red flag warnings and beach wardens. The beaches must also be more people-friendly.

Dr Grech said that MTA is at the moment working on a bay in Sliema and hopes to get it to Blue Flag level, and it intends to do the same at other beaches.

Another guest asked why construction works are allowed to be carried out next door to hotels in the peak tourism season. As an example he mentioned a well-known developer and a hotelier who did not hesitate to build next to the Fortina Hotel in peak season.

Dr Grech said that last year the Minister of Tourism had invited developers to stop their work during the peak season. It seems his appeal was not listened to. A guest suggested bringing the police to deal with such matters.

Another guest said it was the Planning Authority which must enforce coordination by detailing the manner and timeframe in which a development can be built, thus making sure that no work is done during the peak season.

Another person suggested the need for an immediate facelift to most of the principal roads of the country and in the major areas. Dr Grech said that the MTA now has a four-year budget, so it can plan ahead.

"We must target the issue of seasonality more. Besides, every country has its construction industry, but in other countries, such as the UK, it is far more disciplined; the area where development is taking place is curtailed and dust emissions are

controlled." Dr Grech said that as regards the British market, it is true that this market has decreased. "It is too early to look into what will happen next winter. But, we do seem to have an image problem in the UK. Last Sunday's Sunday Times (of London) had a whole section of its travel supplement dedicated to the Mediterranean, but Malta was not even

mentioned."