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Speaking at Friday’s presentation of the quarterly Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association Hotel Survey by Deloitte & Touche newly elected MHRA President Justin Zammit Tabona cited a turnaround taking shape in the tourism industry while also calling for all those involved in the industry to give proper value for money.
Speaking at the survey’s presentation Mr Zammit Tabona comments, “It is frustrating to see that the results from the UK market were disappointing in Q3 and the outcome in the four star sector of higher volumes but lower room rates than last year. However, we are pleased to see that results in the industry are starting to turn positive.”
He stresses, “Tourists are key contributors to the economy and I plea to all to give good value for money. Tourism must be seen as a bridge to economic recovery. Our Lm500 million investment spread over 8,000 direct employees should be seen as a national investment of Lm62,500 per employee.
“As MHRA, we welcome the announcement that the Prime Minister will himself chair the inter-ministerial working group relating to tourism and we call on Government to implement the proposed MTA restructuring exercise without delay in order to sustain the positive momentum that has already commenced.”
Turning to the survey’s results, hotel occupancy levels over this year’s third quarter have risen in all categories, but the report cites a marginal reduction in room rates was required in the four-star sector for this to be achieved. The five-star sector did well, with occupancy levels increasing by four per cent over last year to 82 per cent, combined with a five per cent improvement in the average room rate to Lm40.32. The four-star sector had a very significant seven per cent improvement in occupancy levels to 90 per cent but room rates fell marginally by seven cents per room per night to Lm19.44, whilst the three-star sector saw almost unchanged occupancy levels at 84.3 per cent but had a relatively good improvement in room rates of 65 cents per room per night to Lm13.07.
Reporting on hotels’ operating results, the report explains that the combination of positive trends in revenue and small improvements in cost base led to a noticeable improvement in gross operating profit margins during Q3 compared to last year and they are generally back in line with historic norms. However the relatively weak performance earlier in the year means that cumulative absolute results for the nine months to September, whilst an improvement on last year, have not yet fully recovered to historic levels (pre 9/11) and further effort is needed to catch-up overall.
The number of departing tourists over July, August and September increased by nearly five per cent over the same time last year, making this one of the busiest summers in a decade. And yet the number of tourists from the UK fell sharply (-8 per cent). The overall positive outcome was therefore the result of very strong increases in the number of German tourists (+22 per cent), French tourists (+27 per cent) and Scandinavian tourists (+46 per cent). During Q3 tourist expenditure is slightly lower than last year due to a shorter length of stay, but on a per person per night basis it is some 3 per cent higher.
Deloitte Partner Nick Captur, explaining the Survey Results said: “This is a good turnaround and now Malta has to work on building up such a positive outcome for a full 12 month period. The Prime Minister has set the agenda with overall targets for tourism. The industry has great potential but we all have to work at it.” He Captur also made reference to international data released by Deloitte overseas which added the following insight to Malta’s performance relative to other Mediterranean resorts, commenting, “Malta appears to have outperformed these Mediterranean resorts in terms of occupancy increases during the summer. Malta has done better than Cyprus, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands and the Costa del Sol when it comes to occupancy levels and rates also improved well in our five-star sector. However we need to also point out that in absolute terms Maltese rates remain on the low side and that last year’s results for Malta were affected by an increase in hotel supply and a deeper downswing than in other resorts. So it’s a step in the right direction, but a lot more work remains to be done.”
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