Malta is expected to welcome 2.2 million by the end of the year, with 79 per cent of 2019 levels having been reached in the first six months of the year, MTA CEO Carlo Micallef said on Friday.
The figure is slightly up from the estimated two million projected in September for all of 2022
Micallef was speaking at a conference organised by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association during which the hotel performance survey for this year's third quarter was presented.
Breaking down some of the Malta Tourism Authority’s strategy and marketing work throughout the year, Micallef said that Malta’s air seating capacity is expected to reach 5.4 million by the end of the year.
With a focus on adding new routes, Micallef added that the majority of airlines that operated during this summer will continue into the winter of next year.
Malta is also expected to begin welcoming direct flights from Stockholm, while Air Serbia and Emirates will once again be operating daily flights from winter 2023.
Addressing the same event, financial advisor Raphael Aloisio said that improved connectivity had an impact on producing overall positive results for the quarter.
However, while the hospitality industry registered an increase in revenue, the overall gross operating profit had dropped, reflecting rising costs related to payroll and inflation.
The average length of stay in 2022 so far has been slightly higher than that registered in 2019, however, accumulated guest nights reached 78% of pre-pandemic levels.
Tourists' average daily spend reached €120.41 per day, which is 4.6% above the amount registered in 2019. Still, overall total expenditure by tourists from January to September reached 89.2% during the same period in 2019.
When it comes to occupancy in the third quarter, this reached 72% in 5-star hotels, 86% in 4-star hotels and 93.3% in 3-star hotels.
'Air Malta vital to sustaining the industry’s growth'
MHRA president Tony Zahra said that the upward trend in recovery was not an accident but the fruit of the collective effort made by dedicated stakeholders, adding that Malta had successfully “turbocharged” the tourism and hospitality sector through unconventional and innovative investment strategies.
However, he warned that sustainability is key to maintaining the positive trend.
“To further realise and sustain growth, investments should systematically cover the entire ecosystem, from destination readiness to tourist engagement in source markets, from distribution to regulations and human capital development,” he said.
Zahra also warned that stakeholders in the industry should seriously consider new ways to orient their next wave of investment to achieve sustainable growth.
Air Malta, he continued, is vital to sustaining the industry’s growth and more connectivity is needed in order to reach 2019 levels.
With the war in Ukraine leading to a global crisis in energy and food supply, Zahra commended the government’s vision as outlined in the national budget last week, saying that sustaining families and businesses would ensure stability and support for further sustainable economic growth.