Meaning business

Tourism represents our country's most important economic pillar. We need to be effective in this sector not only for the tourism industry in its own right, but also because through that industry we can reactivate the entire economy through which we all stand to benefit as a country.

That is why I have been very emphatic with the Malta Tourism Authority over the past months that we must ensure an effective organisation that responds pro-actively to the new challenges that the industry has been facing.

When I was announcing the beginning of the exercise that will lead to the Authority's restructuring, one of the journalists present referred to the fact that the Authority has only been established for five years and asked me whether I think that that is too short a time. My response was straightforward: No, it is not a short a time at all.

Tourism is a dynamic sector and all the indicators prove that even over the past five years there have been radical changes to which we must be already responding. A proper action plan and strategy is needed immediately.

The symptoms that characterise how this sector is changing at an accelerated pace are there for all to assess:

People have switched from planning their 'annual holiday' months ahead to making decisions a couple of weeks if not days before travelling. Long breaks have been substituted by shorter stays. More frequent visits have taken over from the annual 'event'. Low-cost airlines have empowered travellers to make more open and easier choices. That has also meant shifting from booking through agents to going directly to the airlines and to hotels through the Internet.

What was formerly a limited list of destinations has been transformed into an endless and unlimited choice of countries that did not target tourists before but are now marketing as and more aggressively than the 'traditional' spots. Expenditure patterns and trends are also changing. Moreover, it is not so much a question of visiting one destination or another, as it is of choosing between one possible experience and another - asking about what the trip will mean as an experience to the traveller, are events taking place while the person is visiting, and what are the unique selling points.

That is why an overhaul of the MTA is required. Deloitte and Touche have been commissioned to carry out this task and to do so with a sense of haste and immediacy - in fact they are to report back by the end of September, and to then assist the Authority in the implementation of the recommendations that will form an integral part of their report.

It is worth quoting directly from the letter sent by the audit firm to the Authority before agreement was reached to proceed with this important assignment: "We understand that the objectives of the project are to perform a detailed review of the Authority's current operating framework with a view to restructuring its activities, where required, in order to improve its cost effectiveness, accountability, transparency and overall efficiency and effectiveness." The report will make relevant recommendations for improvement.

I am glad to note that apart from those elements that persist to abide by their own particular agendas in this country, the response from the industry itself has been positive. In particular the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, which represents the people who over the years have been putting their money where their mouths are, has welcomed the exercise because it knows very well that this is precisely what is now needed within MTA.

The Union Haddiema Maghqudin, which represents MTA employees, has also recognised the need of a restructuring exercise while rightly insisting on its right to be consulted and involved in its implementation. This is what is intended and once the audit firm's report reaches my desk, I have promised UHM to pass on a copy to them immediately.

I am convinced that through constructive dialogue where all parties concerned recognise the need to act in the most effective manner possible as the only way how we can guarantee employment within the industry itself and throughout the country, we can reach goals that protect the national interest and that will have the support of all concerned.

On a wider scale, I am convinced that this is what can and needs to be achieved. Over the past months the UHM has been stressing the need for a social pact and tomorrow Government opens up a process of discussion with all the social partners to reach such a pact preferably by the end of the year.

The assignment that is being carried out within the MTA involves three phases: assessing the current scenario; providing recommendations for improvements; and assisting the Authority in the implementation of these recommendations.

The first phase will involve a systematic and objective examination of the Authority's activities to assess the performance, effectiveness and accountability of these activities and to be in a position to make definitive recommendations as to how the MTA can improve its operational and cost effectiveness.

The analysis will provide a clear understanding of the environment within which the Authority operates, not least from the point of the view of the stakeholders, who have every interest in ensuring an effective operation.

The analysis is also meant to provide a clear understanding of the MTA's objectives, mission, trend results as well as expected results by reviewing policy setting, marketing and promoting tourism, product planning and development, regulatory issues, enforcement, historic tourism trends and underlying reasons impacting trends, and the outlook for the future tourism trends.

The entire organisational and management structure, ranging from the board of directors to overseas offices, from the administrative to the finance functions need to be scrutinised objectively. The analysis is also meant to provide us with a clear understanding of expenditure and the relation between resource utilisation and results.

Operational procedures, control procedures, Authority limits and accountability will be examined.

The analysis, while providing an objective platform for whatever follows, will only be half as interesting (at most!) as the recommendations that, after appropriate consultation, will be made.

The targets that are to be achieved are clear. The Authority's corporate and management structure will need to be realigned to achieve increased cost effectiveness, value for money, accountability, transparency, results based performance as well as effective and timely reporting.

Should it be necessary to redefine the organisational structure, we must have the courage to proceed in that direction if that is the way to achieve better results for the MTA itself and the industry that it services. That applies to all possible components within that structure since the purpose of any authority or other public institution is never to become an end that justifies itself but to be the efficient tool through which the objectives for which it has been set up are achieved.

Each and every one of us should measure our own work satisfaction by what we have daily been able to achieve not so much for ourselves but for the community as a whole. Have we been of service to others? Have we been helpful and courteous, especially if we work in tourism? Have we been positive in our approach? Have we really been productive and task oriented? Have we delivered?

That is the one and only culture that needs to animate us if we wish to move foreword.

The figures that have just been issued by the National Statistics Office indicate that we have had an increase of over 8% in tourists visiting us in June compared to June last year. Expenditure in June has also been higher than that of a year ago. It also means that we managed to stand our ground, with a slight improvement during the first six months of this year.

There is, however, no room for complacency. Other figures such as those relating to the total number of bed nights or expenditure over all the first six months are equally relevant and prove that we need to go further.

That is why there is no excuse for not meaning business. We must have the courage to make whatever difficult decisions may be necessary, and above all move in only one direction - results. That means that all those who work within this sector stand to be judged by those results and by no other consideration.

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