More than meets the eye

Malta has been traditionally regarded as a sea and sun destination. Tourists are attracted to the island's sunny and warm weather, and to its geographical position, in the centre of the Mediterranean. But in view of the ever-increasing competition from other tourist destinations, the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) felt that it had to reposition Malta on the international tourism map.

The MTA was formally set up by the Malta Travel and Tourism Service Act (1999) with the aim of carrying out a domestic, motivating, directional, co-ordinating and regulatory role, with an international dimension, and with responsibility for the promotion of Malta and Gozo as tourist destinations.

The MTA is currently in the second year of the 2002-2004 Strategic Plan, which seeks to set out tasks and address challenges that the MTA has identified, in consultation with the tourism industry's stakeholders. The main challenge is to work on what has already been achieved in the past - the repositioning of Malta as a brand.

MTA chairman John C. Grech last week told The Sunday Times: "Whereas the MTA's predecessor primarily had a promotional function, the MTA's role is vaster. The whole concept of the 1999 legislation was to set up a comprehensive organisation that would focus not only on the promotion of Malta as a tourist destination but one that deals with the entire value chain of the tourism activity."

The MTA is structured under four directorates, each with a director, a board and a chairman of that board, which are all answerable to the authority's CEO, the MTA board and its chairman. Dr Grech explained the workings of each area and how these have contributed towards helping our country acquire an exclusive brand of quality.

The first is the Marketing and Promotional Directorate, which was NTOM's traditional function. The second is the Product Planning and Development Directorate, which is responsible for the development of standards, the issuing of licences, the organisation of events that enhance the product, and a number of innovative ideas that the authority has been working on and which are due to be launched in the near future.

Other activities include the establishment and promotion of countryside walks, joint projects with local councils and the implementation of a landscaping scheme.

"Therefore the authority is turning to work both at the core standards of the industry as well as to harness the capabilities of stakeholders who work with us, to upgrade the product," he said.

A third function is that related to the industry's human resources, support services and training. "We are in a service industry where the quality of service is very important," Dr Grech explained.

"So we are not only interested in the hard standards, the buildings and the structure, but also in the soft standards, the soft infrastructure, and that is the training, skills and attitude of people. These condition the delivery of the service to the tourist."

A lot of new work has been done in this area. People working in the tourist sector have benefited from extensive training co-ordinated by the MTA, such as intensive first-hand experience in Ireland for employees of leading local hotels.

"These programmes are particularly effective because the trainees actually experience the higher standard of services, which is being expected in local fora. They are not merely learning the theory behind quality service, but also getting practice through actual experience," Dr Grech explained.

The authority has also been involved in the Leonardo Programme, which offers training and working opportunities to member and applicant countries of the European Union. In September, the Employment and Training Corporation and the MTA are to send a group of 15 young job-seekers to Ireland to work, train and improve their skills in the food and beverage sector.

The MTA is also working closely with the Federation of Associations of Travel and Tourism Agents (FATTA). Ten local conference and incentive representatives are being sponsored to train in Germany for two months next January to give them the opportunity to have access to more vocational training and to the German-speaking part of conference and incentive business.

Another programme involves collaboration with the Malta Transport Authority, the Public Transport Association, and the Gozo Bus Owners' Association, from which ten bus owners/drivers will be benefiting from a two-week training programme in Portsmouth, UK.

Other training programmes include Malta Int u t-Turist, aimed at trainees working in tourism-related establishments, and so-called Train the Trainer schemes, through which employees returning from training pass on the information acquired to their colleagues.

The fourth directorate is the Enforcement Directorate, which is primarily entrusted with ensuring that licence conditions are adhered to. There is a right of appeal to the MTA's enforcement actions, which falls under a totally autonomous Appeals Board.

"The directorate, which came into operation in 2001, currently functions with 13 enforcement officers who make sure that the licensees are operating according to the standards required in the licence," Dr Grech said. "This makes of the MTA a user-friendly, yet purposeful authority."

He went on to explain the line of thought behind the repositioning of Malta as a brand. "Other destinations offer a volume package, focusing on competitive prices rather than quality. But Malta is a small island and there is no room for such a strategy here. Malta would lose out if it adopts a price-sensitive strategy.

"Instead, we discussed and defined Malta's unique qualities - what it is that we have that others do not. Malta boasts of a colourful history and folklore, traditional social activities, such as the village festas, and of being also an English-speaking country.

"We also saw that we could exploit the fact that Malta is small into projecting it as a community in which the tourist gets involved with the local residents in experiencing Malta. We are not selling Malta as a destination but as an experience, an ideal meeting place."

To complement this branding exercise, the MTA has embarked on organising a series of activities which attract tourists but also involve the local residents, such as the Mediterranean Food Festival, the International Choir Festival and the Malta Fireworks Festival.

It has also organised local events, such as the Valletta Festival, the Mdina and Rabat Festival and the Summer Fun events, currently taking place every Friday in promenades throughout the islands.

The MTA has other works in progress, such as two-hour sightseeing tours, across northern and southern routes, with the collaboration of the local councils, other authorities and even the Church.

The authority has complemented its schemes and programmes with promotional brochures and booklets. Five colourful, handy A5 booklets focus on Malta's niche markets: the diver's paradise, a leisure island, a country rich in folklore and history, and a place where one can learn English.

Another two A4 brochures detail Malta as an ideal meeting place for business and conference and incentive travel; a third portrays Gozo as "an island of love and honey".

Another important publication is the calendar of events which lists all the activities organised by the MTA for the whole year. The authority is now compiling the 2004 calendar.

Dr Grech said: "For the first time the Maltese people are part of the product we are marketing. By encouraging interaction between host and guest, we are attracting tourists into a unique world, which invites them to integrate with the local residents.

"This idea has also been depicted on adverts used on UK buses, for instance, showing the tourist in Malta embraced in a world of tradition, history and folklore, and feeling an urge to become part of the involving atmosphere together with the local residents."

Dr Grech said that the MTA's aim is to deliver what it promises: a unique experience focused on quality. To reach this aim the MTA needs the help and support of all the stakeholders in the tourism industry, but above all it needs the support of the local community in general.

"Ultimately everyone is benefiting from tourism," Dr Grech said, "since it is one of the leading industries that makes our country's economic progress possible."

This is a particularly difficult time for the travel industry, following three international incidents that had serious and adverse effects: the September 11 tragedy, the Iraqi crisis and the SARS epidemic.

"Currently, competition is intense, which means that we have to struggle more - not by slashing prices but by putting an extra effort in delivering a quality product. We all have to make sure that the tourist's stay in Malta results in a positive experience." Dr Grech continued.

"We are enjoying positive results on the whole, notwithstanding that our competitors are investing huge amounts of money to promote their countries as tourist destinations."

Dr Grech said that the repositioning task embarked through a promotional campaign in Malta has also been successfully achieved in countries like England, France, Germany and Italy. The MTA is now looking beyond to Japan and China, the eastern European countries and North America.

The MTA is doing whatever is expected of it. It has worked hand in hand with the responsible authorities in areas like the local road infrastructure, or in keeping the island clean, maintaining an unpolluted environment. But the MTA is neither the competent authority, nor does it have the budget to embark by itself on these projects. Yet, it is always willing to collaborate with the relevant authority as a motivator, catalyst and supervisor.

Speaking about the environment quickly triggers off the current landfill and waste management issue.

Dr Grech said that although landfills are important, decisions to site landfills close to landmark locations, including archaeological and historical sites, should be carefully and seriously considered.

Although it is good news for the MTA chairman that the Maghtab problem is being addressed, he said that it is imperative that the relevant impact assessment studies on all the new proposed sites take the impact on strategic local landmarks into account to try to minimise the negative effect on tourism.