Ryanair to operate Bremen-Malta route

Mosta, 26/04/07 - Ryanair will be operating three frequencies a week from its base in Bremen, Germany, to Malta as from 26 September.

The route will be flown using B-737-800s and will be a year-round operation.

The announcement was made less than 48 hours after the government issued a set of proposals to airlines to operate from Bari, Italy; Bremen and from any airport in Portugal and Spain.

Malta Tourism Authority chairman Sam Mifsud was in Dublin last week for talks with Ryanair and clinched the Bremen deal with the Irish low cost carrier.

The airline is expected to announce another three routes to Malta in the coming few weeks.

"We're at the final stages of discussion", Mifsud told Island Travel Trader Online, but would not reveal the other points of origin. These, however, are likely to be Stockholm and a Spanish airport. Barcelona is ruled out, as Clickair will soon be launching its own twice-weekly service from that city.

Ryanair already operates to Malta from Dublin, London Luton and Pisa and is expected to carry 90,000 passengers on these routes in 2007.

17th edition of Island Travel Yearbook published
Order online

Mosta, 22/04/07 - Island Publications, publishers of Island Travel Trader Online - what you are reading - have published the 17th edition of their travel trade annual, Island Travel Yearbook 2007.

The 218-page publication provides speedy access to the names, addresses, communications details and personnel information for all companies involved in the Maltese travel industry.

Additionally Island Travel Yearbook 2007 contains travel-related statistics and data, full details including floor plans of the major conference venues, information on yachting and anchorages, a comprehensive listing of all airlines that serve Malta, car rental companies, forex companies, ferry services, travel agencies, tour operators, the accommodation sector, diving schools, English language schools, plus exhaustive chapters on general information, museums and places of interest.

The yearbook also includes the only photographic who's who of travel personalities in Malta.

"I am proud to say that In the 17 years that Island Travel Yearbook has been in print, it remains the travel industry's preferred - and only - reference tool", comments yearbook editor Terence Mirabelli.

"In fact, over the years it has also become one of the most plagiarised books on the islands. This, of course, is an admission by others that Island Travel Yearbook is a reliable and dependable tool", Mirabelli adds.

The yearbook is available at Lm9 directly from the publishers and from leading bookshops and newsagents in Malta and Gozo.

Malta-based readers may order their copies online. To order Island Travel Yearbook 2007 send an email to tmirabelli at travelmalta.com providing the address to which they would like their copy of ITY2007 delivered.

The publishers will deliver the requested copy within 24 hours of the email's receipt. Payment, either in cash or cheque - payable to Island Publications Ltd - is required on delivery.

Amitex07 launched, new jargon introduced

Luqa, 22/04/07 - Although some 25,000 people visited Amitex 2006, last year's edition of the Air Malta travel show will be remembered for Austin Gatts's 'fantasy of low cost at all costs' speech.

The 14th edition of Amitex, meanwhile, was officially launched at a press conference addressed by KM's chief officer commercial Brock Friesen.

As in previous years, the exhibition will be held at the trade fair grounds in Naxxar from Thursday, 26, to Sunday, 29, April. The fair will be inaugurated on Thursday at 11:45 by Air Malta chairman Lawrence Zammit and Austin Gatt, Minister for Investment, Industry and Information Technology.

This year's Amitex will see the participation of 34 local and 20 foreign exhibitors. Local tour operators and travel agents will once again be present while foreign service providers from Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Libya, Nepal, Spain, Turkey, Tunisia and the UK will be present.

Air Malta will promote its summer 2007 flight schedule at Amitex. This season the carrier will operate 200 flights a week to 46 scheduled destinations in Europe, North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean.

The carrier will also promote the latest additions to its "portfolio of routes" - Liverpool and Venice - the reintroduction of the Benghazi route and its increased frequencies to Munich, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Berlin, Birmingham, Stansted and Rome.

Air Malta's new strategy, says Friesen, is to increase "schedule utility". This means laying on more regular flights to more destinations that, in turn, means more passenger usage. "We are building density to build more inbound business", explains the airline's Canadian COM.

What a breath of fresh air Brock Friesen is. Not only does he bring a thorough knowledge of the aviation business, but - and also more importantly for reporters - a new set of buzzwords and jargon!

During the fair Air Malta will also promote its latest Early Bird offer valid for travel until June 2007. KM is offering one-way travel at Lm19 (excluding taxes and charges). Reservations and ticketing have to be made by 30 April, and payment is up front as well.

Amitex will be open from 18:00 to 22:00 on 26, 27 and 28 April. On Sunday the fair will open from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 16:00 to 21:00. The entrance fee is 35c.

BA reintroduces Manchester frequency, slashes agent commissions

London, 22/04/07 - British Airways is resuming its service from Manchester to Malta this summer. From 1 May the airline will operate a daily frequency from Manchester, to complement the daily service from London Gatwick.

Alan McIntyre, commercial director GB Airways - that operates the flights on behalf of BA - said: "We are pleased to be able to respond to our customers' needs by resuming our flights to Manchester. As always, we remain committed to the island by maintaining our year-round daily flights to London Gatwick at a value for money fare".

One-way fares start at Lm14 to both Manchester and London excluding taxes.

Meantime, local travel agents and tour operators are challenging a decision by BA to slash the commission it pays them from four per cent to one per cent as from July, The Sunday Times (of Malta) reports.

Iain Tonna, president of the Federated Association of Travel and Tourism Agents (FATTA), says that in terms of an IATA agreement adequate compensation has to be given to travel agents by airlines.

"The commission is not quantified, but one can argue whether one per cent is adequate compensation, especially considering that the cost of tickets is decreasing and hence, so is the income for the tour operators and travel agents.

"If airlines believe that travel agents are not important, then they can try to sell on their own steam and see if they are able to retain their market share", challenged Tonna.

FATTA has sought legal advice and has requested a meeting with James Stagno Navarra, the British Airways representatives here.

Have saint, will travel

Mosta, 22/04/07 - There is no doubt that a canonisation is a boom to travel. Just a shade under 4,000 people have so far registered for tickets at the Curia (the Roman Catholic church's administrative arm) to attend the canonisation in Rome of the Blessed Gorg Preca on 3 June.

At a meeting between the Curia's organising committee and travel agents on Friday, the programme for the canonisation of Malta's first saint was announced.

Ticket holders will have to assemble at St Peter's Square by 08:00 on Sunday, 3 June, for entry into St Peter's. The canonisation mass will start at 10:00.

Meantime, on the evening of 2 June a vigil will be held at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore whilst on Monday morning at 11:00 a mass of thanksgiving will be celebrated at St Peter's by Malta's primate, Archbishop Paul Cremona.

Germanwings plans year-round operation

Mosta, 22/04/07 - Low-cost airline Germanwings will operate to Malta on a year-round basis, writes Herman Grech in The Times (of Malta).

The airline launched services to the islands three weeks ago, but the response has been so encouraging it opted to extend its services to the lean months as well.

The German LCC, offshoot of flag carrier Lufthansa, operates four flights a week, two each from Cologne and Stuttgart.

"This is a very positive signal. Germany was a problem market last year because of the lack of seat accessibility. It's a crucial market for the industry and it is encouraging news that the airline has decided to extend its service throughout winter as well," Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech told The Times.

The government says the airline is expected to fly in some 13,000 visitors this year, but Malta Tourism Authority chairman Sam Mifsud, who headed the talks with Germanwings, would not be drawn into saying how many passengers it was now expected to fly.

To cater for the lack of seat capacity to Germany, national airline Air Malta recently announced it would be increasing its flights to Munich, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Berlin.

Lufthansa has agreed to start using larger aircraft on its Malta route.

March cruise traffic up 91%

Valletta, 20/04/07 - Lat month 15,441 cruise liner passengers disembarked in Malta, an increase of 7,381 over March 2006 - up 91.6 per cent, reports the National Statistics Office.

In Q1, meanwhile, the total number of cruise passenger traffic to the islands was 19,879, an increase of 1.9 per cent over the January to March period of 2006.

Excursionists from EU countries accounted for 91 per cent of total traffic; the main source countries being Germany, Italy and Spain.

On a gender basis, total traffic was almost on a par, although female passengers outnumbered males by 1.5 per cent. The largest proportion of passengers - 38.3 per cent - comprised persons aged between 60 and 79 followed by those in the 40 to 59-age bracket, who accounted for 34 per cent of the total.

Cruise liner calls to Malta increased by two in March, bringing the total for Q1 to 15 compared to 19 in 2006.

Ministry warns timeshare touts not to harass tourists

Valletta, 20/04/07 - Summer is fast approaching and, apart from the hot and sunny weather, the season also brings out a variety of pests and bugs not least the so-called OPCs - timeshare touts.

Last summer the Ministry of Tourism and Culture issued a set of regulations dealing with the selling of timeshare in Malta. These were aimed at minimising the inconvenience to tourists by timeshare salespeople. The regulations were the result of a series of meetings between representatives of the timeshare industry and officials from the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and the Malta Tourism Authority.

Even though a positive outcome, and a significant drop in the number of complaints, has been registered since these regulations were issued, the ministry is keeping the situation under control through a series of meetings between all stakeholders concerned and through the enforcement of the regulations by the Malta Tourism Authority.

In the past few months, the MTA has fined marketing companies and nine OPCs over Lm6,100. This was done by drawing on bonds and guarantees which marketing companies were requested to make so that they would be able to operate.

The seven marketing companies responsible for the sale of timeshare were requested to deposit more than Lm83,000 as guarantee for good behaviour of their OPCs.

The MTA is now also employing two inspectors dedicated solely to the control of areas where timeshare is sold. These will be continuously present in these areas to monitor OPCs' activities and take all necessary action to eliminate inconvenience or harassment.

If, in spite of these efforts, harassment persists, the Ministry for Tourism and Culture warns that it will have no other option but to issue new regulations barring OPCs from selling timeshare in public areas.

The Ministry for Tourism and Culture "will persist in its efforts to safeguard this important tourism sector, but at the same time safeguard the tourists from undue harassment".

Outbound travel still rises

Valletta, 20/04/07 - In February 11,371 Malta residents traveled to EU destinations, out of a total of 12,978 departures, says the National Statistics Office.

The most popular destinations of residents to travel to continue to be the United Kingdom and Italy.

In the first two months of the year, meanwhile, the number of Malta residents travelling by air and sea totaled 27,350, an increase of nine per cent over the same period in 2006. Almost 85 per cent travelled to European Union countries.

In January and February male passengers exceeded female ones, the former accounting for 64.8 per cent of the total.