Changing trends in holiday choices

Traditionally, Europeans plan their holidays in the winter months when newspapers and magazines often make suggestions on where the best destinations could be found. This year has been no exception, even if the trends of planning and booking summer holidays are changing fast.

Malta features in 18th place after main competitors Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Cyprus Greece and Croatia

I have reviewed some media features on holiday planning for 2013 and not surprisingly the emphasis this year is again on low-cost holidays. The British Post Office’s annual Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer compares eight typical tourist items in more than 40 holiday destinations worldwide – including dinner for two, light refreshments and sun cream.

One can argue that this is hardly representative of a typical holiday bill but it certainly influences people’s views on where they can get the best value for their hard-earned money. The results of this survey were reported in various UK newspapers as well as travel magazines that undoubtedly influence would be travellers in their choice of holiday destinations.

Unfortunately, Malta does not make it in the top 10 destinations that offer the best value for money as defined in this report. We feature in the 18th place after some of our main competitors like Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Cyprus Greece and Croatia. It is interesting to note how economic turmoil has forced countries like Cyprus, Spain and Portugal to declare war on high tourism-related costs to attract more visitors, and hopefully kickstart the much needed economic recovery.

The Post Office report also identifies the top 10 European city break destinations. Once again we do not make it in this league which sees Prague, Budapest and Riga featuring in the top positions of ‘best value destinations’.

The Guardian carried a feature where Malta was included in a list of the top winter holiday destinations. The short-listing was not based on considerations of costs but on the attractiveness of the destination in the winter months. The fly in the ointment of this positive review was that Malta was selected because of our carnival festivities which only last for a few days. So we can hardly expect to fill our hotel beds throughout the winter because of carnival.

European travellers have become very sophisticated in the way they select their holiday destinations. They research their preferred destinations on websites like tripadvisor.com where they can usually find detailed and varied reviews on hotels, restaurants and the general ambience of a particular destination.

Media and billboard advertising may have some effect on people’s decisions on holiday destinations. But it is more likely that holiday decisions are taken after sessions of internet surfing on the ubiquitous tablets, smartphones, and home computers at practically every time of the day.

These changing trends in travel shopping are not very different from what is happening in retail. Understandably, consumers are looking for value for money like never before, and the internet has created an almost perfect virtual market place where one can compare holiday costs quoted by operators in one’s own country, but also regionally and at times even globally.

Would-be travellers often trust the holiday reviews made by fellow travellers more than the sexed up reviews that appear in the travel sections of newspapers and magazines.

The message that these changing trends are sending to operators in our tourism industry is that we need to get our pricing right and ensure that we add value in whatever service we provide without necessarily increasing costs.

Malta is sold out in the peak four or five summer linked months. We can hardly improve on bed occupancy at this time, and our objective should be to entice tourists coming in this period to spend more money by providing enticing offers for extra activities. The real challenge remains that of attracting visitors in the winter and shoulder months when the good weather cannot be guaranteed and we have to rely on other attractions.

In the last few years, some very interesting initiatives have been taken to highlight Malta’s attractions that are not linked with our usually glorious weather. The revamping of our historical heritage needs to be more focused to highlight the undoubted wealth of our historical buildings, cultural activities, and unique town and village ambience. Malta can offer much more than sun, sand and hospitality to European visitors.

We also need new metrics that will help us gauge the real success linked to investment in this sector. Counting number of tourists and money spent will always be an incomplete measure of success.

johncassarwhite@yahoo.com