News | Sunday, 26 July 2009

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Bookings down 50% for ‘bleak August’

David Darmanin
Hoteliers are hoping last-minute bookings will save the August month, as reservations are currently 50% down over the same month last year. “In spite of the flights and seat capacity being available, and the marketing being done by the MTA, figures for August look bleak and hoteliers are concerned,” Malta Hotels and Restaurants CEO George Schembri said. “We weren’t expecting anything spectacular this summer, but they weren’t looking at anything this bad.”
But Schembri says similar fears in June were quashed when last-minute bookings turned the situation around. “July turned out to be good. It’s a very last-minute booking situation at the moment. Of course however, operators would be concerned about August – because the month generally fills up quite early.”

MHRA president Kevin De Cesare even said the tide was turning, calling the 50% figure “old news”.
“Work for the first two and three weeks started coming in now, although the last 10 days of August look very bleak. Room rates are down too,” he said.
On his part, tourism parliamentary secretary Mario de Marco said the trend in hotel bookings had shifted towards a last-minute situation. “God forbid we’re down by 50% this August.”
De Marco said the same fears were present in June for July. “But July did not end up being as bad as some may have thought. Passenger movements’ figures – which also include outbound tourists – saw a drop of about 5% throughout the first three weeks of July when compared to the same period last year,” he said. “Occupancy is not that bad, but yes, the room rate is down.”
Incoming tourism agent Robert Arrigo, a Nationalist MP, said that “we’re probably looking at a 25% downturn in August arrivals, and a slight decrease in the number of nights spent at hotels. I am relaying to you present figures, the foreseeable future is anybody’s guess.”
Hotelier Angelo Xuereb’s outlook was brighter. Confirming that his hotels too had to lower room rates to attract the desired numbers, “bookings for July have come very close to what we had last year. The first two weeks of August don’t look that bad, but the rest of the month is taking its time to fill up. It has become difficult to predict, although my feeling is that we will not do that badly.”

ddarmanin@mediatoday.com.mt

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