Over 840,000 tourists visited Malta in the second quarter of the year, a new record that surpasses 2019 arrivals by almost 59,000 people, according to data released by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association. 

The same data also shows that guest nights between April and June this year increased by more than 90,000 when compared to pre-COVID levels, with tourists preferring hotels over private accommodation.

The findings - compiled for a survey commissioned by the MHRA - were shared with the media on Thursday by Michael Zarb, Economics and Policy Lead at Deloitte.

He noted that in spite of an increase in payroll and food and beverage costs, 5-star hotels have seen their gross operating profit rise by 27% since 2019.

Four-star hotels, meanwhile, registered a gross operating profit of €59 per available room daily, with a 7.3% increase over 2019. 

Tourists are estimated to have spent €663 million in the second quarter of the year, a 9% increase when compared to 2019. 

Occupancy remained strong as the years progressed, with all hotels across Malta maintaining an average of 86.8% occupancy.

Five-star hotels maintained an occupancy rate of 78.3%, a new record which rose by 0.4% when compared to 2019 levels, while four-star hotels increased their occupancy by one percentage point when compared to 2019, rising to 89%.

Meanwhile, three-star hotels registered a 93.4% occupancy, up by 6.7% from 2019 levels. 

The average daily rate of a five-star hotel was €207.60, followed by €106.50 in four-star hotels and €72.20 in three-star hotels.

These have increased by 18%, 10.1% and 35.4% respectively when compared to the same rates in quarter two of 2019. 

Oversupply and sustainable tourism are top industry concerns 

Zarb said that while Malta’s hotel sector looks to be on track to reach, and perhaps exceed, 2019 levels for tourism, he warned that sustainability remained an open question for the industry. 

“The key concern here is that, without investments to better deal with higher volumes, Malta’s market position might decline, requiring even higher volumes and a larger environmental and societal footprint to sustain the existing economic and financial performance. 

MHRA president Tony Zahra echoed concerns about keeping the industry sustainable and said that the industry must shift towards offering a higher-quality product than aiming to fill hotel rooms with volume. 

“Given the size of our country we must now concentrate on doing things better not bigger,” he said. 

“We must have a better tourism product and a better hospitality service and better infrastructure, including roads, energy and wastewater management.”

He added that improving governance, education, access to culture, better environment, cleaner surroundings and better workforce management will make Malta a better experience for all - not just tourists. 

“One can always find someone who can do it cheaper, but it gets more difficult when one does it better,” Zahra continued. 

“So we need better and more clever investment by both the public and private sector and - equally important - better management on all fronts.”