Malta doing better than most Med. countries

Malta should contain its losses in tourism volume in 2002 to under five per cent, which is a better result than that of most other Mediterranean countries, Tourism Minister Michael Refalo said. It is expected that the last quarter of 2002 would signify Malta's total recovery from the September 11 crisis.

Dr Refalo said Malta was "over-performing" the general trend for European and Mediterranean destinations, although it was still below levels achieved in 2000 and 2001.

The minister was speaking after the meeting of the World Travel Organisation's Tourism Recovery Committee, of which Malta is a member, in London yesterday.

The Tourism Recovery Committee, set up in the wake of September 11, met for the third time in 14 months at the World Travel Market, which opened on Monday. It gathered together representatives of the 25 member countries and other international institutions and organisations to analyse the evolution of the markets and the current tourism situation, particularly in view of the recent Bali attack - the most serious act against foreigners in the history of world tourism - which has given rise to a period of uncertainty in the industry.

The Tourism Recovery Committee meeting was again strongly marked by the impact of terrorism and tourism's fight against it. The idea of the meeting was to evaluate the consequences of these tragic acts and take the necessary measures to minimise the negative effects.

Dr Refalo said the Bali tragedy, apart from affecting the South Pacific area and Australia more significantly, "may have an effect on other destinations, including Malta, in that the fear of flying could resurface".

Regarding the effects on tourism of the possible war in Iraq, which were also discussed during the high-profile meeting, the minister said it would certainly hit the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, and "other Mediterranean countries would not necessarily benefit as a result".

War in Iraq would definitely leave a negative impact on countries like Turkey, Cyprus and Greece and maybe North Africa and Egypt, according to members of the Tourism Recovery Committee.

As regards the UK market - one of Malta's largest - which was after cheaper and shorter holidays, Dr Refalo said specialist operators had taken over from the larger tour operators. The former were more flexible and did not target the mass market, he said, adding that "the mix of both guarantees a good balance and, therefore, moderate growth for 2003".

Asked whether the possible collapse of tour operator Mytravel (previously known as Air Tours) would have an impact on Malta's industry, Dr Refalo was confident that it would not happen. Mytravel was the company that was "performing best for Malta", together with others.

He said Croatia, Bulgaria and Turkey would benefit from the bad situation in the Balearics, caused by its high costs, because they were cheaper than Malta.

The phenomenon of low-fares airlines, which was here to stay, would affect Malta negatively, Dr Refalo said. The island could not benefit from them because it was outside the two-hour flight time radius.

The Tourism Recovery Committee also focused on the changing trends and consumer behaviour as a result of the global crisis. These included last-minute bookings and shorter, do-it-yourself holidays to neighbouring countries. Dr Refalo said Maltese trade would be kept informed of developments.

The Tourism Recovery Committee's role is to provide the industry with the assistance and support it requires to get through a difficult transition period.

It met for the first time in London and again at the ITB in Berlin in March to evaluate the situation and find short-term solutions to help the industry recover and has since carried out a considerable amount of work.

The global feeling that no destination was safe and the loss in consumer confidence did not necessarily point to a slump in international tourism activity. No disaster was predicted for the end of the year and the worldwide situation pointed towards zero, rather than negative growth, Dr Refalo said.

The global situation reflected on Malta and had to be considered, he said.