Some establishments, mainly in the hospitality sector, have failed to reopen as a result of the COVID-19 crisis and a “series of closures” has been noted by the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, which is predicting more on the basis of research conducted among members.

Referring also to coffee shops, restaurants and places of interest, popular until early March, it said statistical data was unavailable to quantify these closures but attributed failure to reopen to the cost of rent and wages, particularly where businesses were not eligible for the government subsidy scheme.

Meanwhile, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association and its Gozo counterpart said they were not aware of any pandemic-related casualties in the industry but said  it was a matter of survival mode for restaurateurs.

The majority of Malta Chamber members (75 per cent) do not foresee a return to pre-COVID-19 levels of business for their companies before March 2021, with only 25 per cent optimistic this could happen by end of year.

“The mood of chamber members is still one of uncertainty, which, as we know, is the antithesis of confidence that businesses thrive on,” its president, David Xuereb, said.

“While there is optimism from a number of sectors, several do not foresee they will be recovering the losses incurred during 2020 as most are in survival mode.”

At a global level, the uncertainty surrounding people’s appetite for holidaying abroad has a direct bearing on Malta’s hospitality and tourism industry, affecting direct players and also on the satellite industries that supply them, Xuereb said. On the other hand, a “heightened sense of adaptation” throughout the crisis, mainly brought about by necessity, has also been noted.

It is a “mixed scenario” in the leisure industry, with “some picking up steadily, others very slowly and some barely started”, according to the head of tourism and hospitality for the Malta Chamber of SMEs, Philip Fenech.

Overall, the picture is far from sustainable and, being up and down, it is keeping everyone on their toes

Establishments with a strong local customer base “kickstarted the whole economy” and some were doing well but others were waiting to open as they depended directly on a neighbouring hotel, for example, which was empty.

A few restaurants, bars, clubs and pubs had actually moved up to previous levels but it was a “stop-go” situation, with a good night followed by a quiet one and no consistency, Fenech said.

On a positive note for the leisure industry, music tourism targeting three long weekends from the end of August through a foreign promoter generated interest from 5,000 revellers as soon as bookings for these parties opened; and some open-air nightclubs were seeing roughly 5,000 patrons a weekend.

The indications, in fact, are that a younger tourist will be travelling this summer, aged between 16 and 50, while the veterans will take their time and visit later when the virus is more stable.

The uncertainty surrounding people’s appetite for holidaying abroad has a direct bearing on Malta’s tourism industry.

“Overall, the picture is far from sustainable and, being up and down, it is keeping everyone on their toes,” Fenech said, pointing to reduced disposable income from work in tourism, much of which is normally re-injected into the leisure industry.

The situation is “moving” in Gozo, and changing day by day, with more foreigners trickling in, Gozo Tourism Association CEO Joe Muscat said, pointing to “seasonality within the week”, with establishments busy only at weekends.

The domestic market was a “good leverage” for the island and was likely to register an increase over last summer but could not be relied on for a healthy year, he said, even though a shift towards longer holidays was being observed, extending stays into the week as the peak of summer approached.

October remains the big question mark, he said, with fears of a second wave of the coronavirus.

The GTA’s point was echoed by restaurateur Justin Zammit Tabona, who opened some of his eateries, mainly to keep staff going and as “we have to start somewhere” but is concerned about what will happen after summer when the wage subsidy stops and people go out even less.

The younger generation was keener to go out than the elderly and families, who still tread carefully, with dining patterns pointing towards earlier meals in more secluded and outdoor spaces, he said.

The importance of following guidelines issued by the health authorities not to jeopardise what had been achieved so far was pointed out, with the Malta Chamber concerned about the lack of public appreciation that “the pandemic is still with us”.