We missed that opportunity a while ago when we started catering for the sun and sea type tourist. Even though there are far nicer destinations to go to if that is what you are interested in.

Alfred Pisani’s position, which is what inspired to the leader in Times of Malta in the first place, is simply him paving the way to having a ‘six’ star hotel as part of a complex he is planning to build instead of the Corinthia hotels in St George’s Bay.

In reality this is just the facade for his own Tigne project and he wants to cash into the millions that are being made by the Fenechs and Mizzis with Portomaso and Tigne.

This when the land was granted to him to build hotels to provide jobs and stimulate the economy, even sacrificing a part of heritage in the process. A change of purpose if there ever was one. But with the new government, Alfred Pisani is king and will get away with what he wants.

As for Michael Zammit Tabona, pray, how does he justify sabotaging the peace of the Comino Blue Lagoon with his tourist boats? He wants the masses, fine, that is where we are at. But to bully your way into one of the most scenic spots in these islands ruining it for everyone else is just another thing altogether.

Malta is definitely not a destination for up market tourists – the sooner he puts this into his empty head the better.

Why am I not surprised?

”(Supt Alexandra) Mamo said that PC127 told her that a green bottle was found in Mr Smith’s car by an RIU officer. She did not see the bottle.

PC Clyde Agius said that RIU officer PC1214 gave him a bottle of Heineken with some liquid inside it and a mobile which he said he lifted from Mr Smith’s car. The bottle was wrapped in paper often used by the police and he gave it to the scene of crime officers.”

I am sure they will be impressed, especially when they found out whether the mobile of the shooter was also taken away or left in his possession.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150115/local/man-shot-at-by-ministers-driver-charged-with-damaging-ministers-car-drink-driving.552004

PS In today’s Times of Malta (Ariadne Massa’s libel case) I’m sure I came across “ill-fate” – meaning, I guess, “bad faith”.

The article hit the nail on the head as to where tourism has to go and I agree totally with Michael Zammit Tabona’s comments.

A typical ‘cuc Maltija’ jumping to conclusions, who looks like a fool now?

Michael Zammit Tabona asked me to send you, for your information, the letter below which he sent to the editor of the Times of Malta in response to the leading article.

———-

Dear Editor

Your leader in today’s Times of Malta about moving away from mass tourism cannot be more mistaken. It is articles like this that are totally endangering our tourism industry.

Tourism should not be called different names; it is plainly tourism and should not be called up or down market nor mass or quality.

Trying to change course to attract a market that probably does not even exist or is difficult to target is folly and also dangerous.

Today most people take several holidays a year, they sometimes stay in a 3 star hotel, sometimes in a 4 star hotel, and others in a 5 star hotel…. They change their level of choice of hotel according to the country they visit, their present financial situation and most importantly pricing being offered by the hotels at the time. To label a person as a mass market client just because they chose to book a 3 star hotel and fly with Ryanair is just as silly as labelling someone as a 5 star client who perhaps just once chose a 5 star hotel and travelled with Air Malta as an up market or quality tourist. People choose their hotels according to the rates available at the time of booking.

Malta’s tourism in circa 2000 was stagnant, our tourism only started to improve when the country took two very important decisions after a two year battle with the government of the day. The first battle being to allow low cost airlines to operate to and from Malta and the second was to totally change our marketing policy.

These decisions resulted in increasing tourism from a stagnant circa 1 million for many years to nearly circa 1.7 million in 7 years.

To move away from this policy and to try to attract high end tourism if one can define who and where they are, can only send an absolute wrong message to our main partners who are; the airlines that operate and continue to fly to Malta and who were completely responsible for this huge increase. These airlines would not be happy to continue to fly these routes should we change our policy. They are used to occupancies of between a sustainable 80-90% and if our advertising policy changes and the occupancy decreases they will surely decrease or cancel routes and will send us back to the stagnant, dark days of tourism.

This can happen within one year, because as soon as airlines see occupancies decreasing they will cancel routes.

If we also change our marketing policy in search of quality tourists (whoever and wherever they may be), we risk losing our core markets. Malta will never again be seen anymore as an active competitor in the tourism industry. We will slowly be forgotten and the tour operators will pull out due to less demand for Malta as will the airlines.

We know how the market works and we should not try and reinvent the wheel. Nor should we try to compare Malta’s tourism to that of London’s and other capital cities. We are an island destination in the Mediterranean, our competitors are Mediterranean destinations, including; Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, Cyprus, Spain, Italy, France and many more, who all happen to be geared towards mass tourism FACT.

The rates obtained in capitals cities must never ever be confused and are completely different to rates obtained in holiday destinations. Moreover, when one has the entire world competing for family holidays there is no single family in the world that will pay crazy rates when it comes to buying a family holiday. Unless they are coming from the super rich elite.

The sensible way forward for Malta tourism is to continue a similar marketing spend in core markets or possibly more to maintain and increase this growth. Also to invest in new markets like China. We need these new markets to increase the number of arrivals, as I firmly believe that we should be targeting 2 million arrivals by 2017/18 simply because of shorter stays and new beds coming online.

If we are to fill our beds year round and if we are to sustain the number of restaurants, bars, shops, excursions, boats, buses etc… then we need to manage to create demand that would make all these different businesses flourish and be profitable.

Increasing demand is the only way to increase room revenue. This is absolutely the only way to increase much needed revenue for our hotels but not just for hotels. Once we have more tourists we will be able to increase the ancillary products that work alongside tourism and who will also see an increase in turn over.

By dumping our present policy and changing it to target up market tourism will send our tourism market into a downward spiral. By changing present policy and attracting less numbers, demand will decrease and subsequently room rates will decrease. Consequently we may end up by actually receiving the so called ‘Quality Tourist’ (if they exist) paying cheaper rates then they do today.

Yes, we need to upgrade as a country, especially our infrastructure, we must never lay back and say we have it all and must constantly improve. We also need to carry on upgrading our hotel products and even if necessary build a 6 or 7 star hotel but not at the expense of changing our current proven policy.

If we had to cater as your article suggests towards ‘Quality Tourism’; whatever is to happen with all the current hotels in Bugibba, Qawra, Paceville, Sliema and Gzira?

[Daphne – Thank you, Cheryl.]

Somehow, I thought as much.