The best option for the future of Maltese tourism

For over 40 years we have been developing a tourism industry which was based on personal loyalties and personalities. It was an industry which attracted a mere 1,000 visitors per annum in the early part of the 20th century and which, today, attracts in the region of 1.1 million visitors a year. This amount may sound a staggering figure for an island with a population of just 400,000 people but when one considers the issues such as size and sustainability then the sense of proportion reflects a realistic carrying capacity.

Malta and Gozo are not mass tourism destinations; we cannot host the vast amounts who choose to visit Spain or Greece. In the past we thought we could attract the kind of tourist who chooses this type of destination but today we have realised just what price we had to pay for this gross mistake.

Visitors to Malta need to be attracted here not for the sun and the sea alone but they have to appreciate our size, our resources and our history and characteristics. We need to provide an innovative programme for them based not on a watered down version of the itineraries that dominate the larger destinations - we could easily offer "tailor-made" excursions that take in, for example, a complete potpourri of history, culture, fun and relaxation.

Our hotels and catering establishments need to work more as a synergistic group rather than a fragmented and disjointed sector always vying for each other's business and gloating over the green pastures on the other side of the fence. Yes, agreed, this is probably the basis for a healthy free market economy but it is also the ideal recipe for disaster if prices are cut too low and quality suffers, the way it so often does.

Quality and price have to be matched by good value for money products and services and these need to be reviewed regularly to avoid complacency and market stagnation.

Membership of the European Union has meant a plethora of opportunities for Maltese entrepreneurs in tourism. What are the basic facts then?

We have a potential market base of 336 million visitors - three out of four EU citizens choose to remain within the EU for their holidays. The industry is set to expand within the Union by some two million jobs. This not only means greater exposure for staff and management to new working methods, it also means greater affluence and disposable income to spend on holidays.

The question of the single currency also has its positive side when it comes to the tourism industry since it reduces the need for hedging for currency movements while it will also make transactions far simpler for the tourist.

If one looks at the human resource element which, in my opinion, is a critical factor in sustainable product development, the EU offers opportunities for learning and continuous development through its various educational grants and mobility programmes.

There is now no excuse for employers to consider the concept of training as a cost because the experience which the staff can gather through such programmes will benefit not only the establishment but - more importantly - it will create motivation and serve as an incentive for the same staff member to look for new methods to deliver service and products to the changing market. It will also open up new opportunities to invest in innovative ideas.

The tourism industry can no longer be seen as the monopoly of a few countries or destinations; changes in working time directives, transport and social issues have all been responsible, along with other more financial matters, for the broadening of the markets and the destinations.

If we consider the basic statistics for our tourism industry, including a potential market of some 300 million visitors, bearing in mind our present and (one would hope) our future carrying capacity of 1.2 million visitors, these should ensure a supply that will last a very long time.

The only problem now is that we depend on a mere trickle of tourists flowing onto our shores. The international statistics for tourists who cross borders every year is estimated at some 650 million visitors. But you turn our tap just ever so gently to shut off that trickle, it could so easily be diverted down another pipeline! This calls for action now to innovate, to rethink our product and our service, to undertake continuous development programmes through the EU's many programmes. These opportunities were simply a myth up to a few months ago; now they are a reality. Now we are members of the EU and we have the chance to improve our very life style. But nothing comes easy; we have to work; we have to seek out the opportunities and go for them!

Mr Zarb is chairman of the Hotel and Catering International Management Association (HCIMA) Malta and founder-president of the Malta Tourism Society.

jzar1@onvol.net