The Minister for Tourism Dr Edward Zammit Lewis has stated that last year was an exceptionally good year for our tourism industry, and further pleased to note that the resulting optimism surrounding the tourism industry was being confirmed by several reports originating from both local and international sources.

The Minister was delivering the opening address during a business breakfast entitled The future of Tourism in Malta: Achievements & Prospects.

Dr Edward Zammit Lewis remarked that the latest World Tourism Barometer statistics published last week stated that tourism within Europe between January and April 2016 grew by 4.4% over the previous year, while tourism within the Mediterranean region grew by 4.3%.

"Our arrivals growth rate greatly surpassed both these very positive figures, registering a remarkable growth of 11.2% between January and April of 2016."

The Minister also outlined that there are strong indications that this year is expected to further outperform the previous 12 months yet again. as the figures for the Tourism industry for the period January to June, denote that Malta hosted more than 835,000 tourists, an increase of 9.7 % over the same period of last year.

The Minister stated that in order to reduce excessive bureaucracy faced by tourism operators, an extensive reform on tourism laws and regulations will be presented in Parliament by the end of this year.

Dr Zammit Lewis highlighted the need to pursue further our drive to improve the quality of our product on offer, and the importance of raising our quality standards.

He also mentioned the introduction of the Eco Contribution, where he reiterated that, all revenue will be directed exclusively towards the improvement of the local infrastructure and enhancement of the general quality of the Gozo and Malta product offer.

With reference to air connectivity, the Minister reaffirmed that this issue remains a focal point of the Government's programme. Dr Zammit Lewis also announced that currently discussions are underway with no less than three new airlines plus others already operating to and from Malta, with a view to adding new routes or extending the frequency of existing routes.

Regarding the national carrier the Minister said that, "one of our key objectives is the turnaround of Air Malta. Our national airline is of strategic importance to the tourism industry and we are working on making sure that it truly becomes a modern, profitable and more relevant in the future. We believe that these objectives can be reached be entering into a strategic partnership with a bigger airline which would help us increase revenues and reduce costs through economies of scale we do not enjoy at the moment as a small standalone airline".

He continued saying that the Government has repeatedly stated that a deal with a strategic partner will only be done if these objectives are reached.

The Minister explained that the top priorities for the immediate future are:

1) More investment in our human capital;

2) More diversification in our source market;

3) Working closer with the private sector and the creation of more PPP initiatives;

4) More priority given to product, including our infrastructure and service;

5) Continue to reduce the seasonal gap in the sector.

"The collaborative synergy among all tourism stakeholders continues to be a determining characteristic and important component of our industry's equation for success. This further boosts our resolve to pursue our strategic objectives with greater intensity and confidence in the years to come," ended the Minister for Tourism Edward Zammit Lewis.

Photograph: DOI/Kevin Abela

Permalink: 2015 was an exceptionally good year for tourism industry – Minister