Archive.June07

Mellieha, 14/06/07, The good news is that occupancies in five star hotels is expected to increase by five per cent in August, compared to last year. The bad news is that three star properties are forecast to lose 22 per cent of their occupancies in the peak summer month.

The reason for this sharp decline is primarily because five star properties are now cheaper than ever and three star hotels no longer compete.

This gloomy forecast for some was announced at yesterday morning's Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association's (MHRA) hotel survey for Q1, presented by Deloitte at the Maritim Antonine Hotel and Spa. A slide showing the August forecast was screened, but was quickly removed and no comment was made.

The survey, meanwhile, showed that in Q1 of this year, although the number of tourist arrivals rose by seven per cent - the highest they have been for five years - guest nights fell by 3.5 points. Guest nights in the three star segment fell by 14.4 points in Q1

And although visitors stayed a shorter time on the islands - an average of 9.8 nights - they spent 9.9 per cent more.

"The sustained growth of 33.4 per cent from Italy is particularly encouraging, hoteliers were told Deloitte's Raphael Aloisio. The Benelux, Nordic and Russian markets also showed positive increases. The flat performance from the United Kingdom, France and Germany, which collectively remained at the same levels as last year, was disappointing".

The higher occupancy levels achieved and the increased turnover enabled hotel operators to decrease their losses in the first three months of the year.

Occupancy levels for Q1 improved in all three hotel categories surveyed. Five and four star properties showed an increase of 1.8 and 16.4 per cent respectively, whilst three star hotels had a nominal increase of just 0.4 per cent in occupancy. The average achieved room rate (AARR) for four and three star properties rose and reached a five-year high for the quarter. On the other hand, AARR in five star hotels dropped 2.4 points. All categories experienced a decline in food and beverage revenue in Q1.

MHRA president Josef Formosa Gauci had a mixed reaction to the results. "It is encouraging to see that the number of tourist arrivals and their level of expenditure have continued to increase, the drop in the number of guest nights, the decline in conference and incentive travel business and the continued shrinkage of the three star market share remain areas of particular concern", he said.

Deloitte's survey indicated that improvements in operational results were primarily driven by a higher average spend, the closure of a number of hotels - mostly in the lower categories - and the fact that an increasing number of visitors are opting for hotel accommodation instead of other forms of non-hotel accommodation.

Formosa Gauci stressed, "we want results to improve on the back of a vibrant growing tourism market driven by increasing arrivals, guest nights and rates. If we want our industry to grow, we have to keep our feet on the ground and continue to collectively face the challenges of a dynamically changing market". The major change being the overall decrease in tour operator business.

Luqa, 14/06/07 - Air Malta has operated charters and scheduled services to Bucharest and Cluj in Romania for several years. Seeing new market opportunities and growth in this region, this summer Malta's flag carrier will start operating a series of charter flights to Timisoara in western Romania and close to the border. The catchment area also includes south-eastern Hungary and northern Serbia.

The charter flights from Timisoara will operate on Friday nights for nine weeks in July and August. The flights are contracted with local agent Viva Travel and in consolidation with 10 local tour operators and travel agents.

Mosta, 11/06/07 - David Mifsud has resigned as chief executive officer of the Malta Tourism Authority.

Minister for Tourism and Culture Francis Zammit Dimech accepted his resignation with immediate effect and instructed the Malta Tourism Authority to look for another person "suitable to occupy said post".

No reasons for Mifsud's resignation were offered; however, it is understood that for the last couple of months his relationship with the ministry had become strained. More importantly, perhaps, is the fact that he had little credibility with the travel industry. This was demonstrated at the MTA's annual meeting at the end of May when, asked by Island Travel Trader Online what tourist arrival targets had been set for this year, he fumbled the reply and was unable to explain how the figure of seven per cent had been reached.

Quizzed by the trade, his explanation was that Malta "will hopefully" show an increase of seven points and that "this is not impossible to achieve".

Mosta, 10/06/07 – Malta Tourism Authority chief executive David Mifsud has been asked to hand in his resignation tomorrow. “He will be citing media and political pressure as the reason for his resignation, but the reasons are far more complex”, writes Kurt Farrugia in yesterday’s edition of online daily maltastar.com.

The decision to axe Mifsud was taken after a meeting on Friday morning between prime minister Lawrence Gonzi, tourism and culture minister Francis Zammit Dimech and MTA chairman Sam Mifsud.

David Mifsud was informed on Saturday morning of the decision. He accepted to leave his post and said he would be handing in his resignation on Monday, according to maltastar.com.

Mifsud was appointed MTA CEO on 1 September 2006 on a salary of Lm36,000 a year.

MTA chairman Sam Mifsud, meanwhile, told Island Travel Trader Online he had “no comment” when asked about David Mifsud’s impending resignation.

Mosta 08/06/07 - Just as Clickair operated its inaugural service from Barcelona to Malta yesterday, Spain's pilots' union condemned the airline as unsafe.

The low cost carrier, launched last year by Iberia, was criticised by pilots along with Air Pullmantur, Vueling and Air Comet, for infringements such as low-fuel landings, take-offs with unresolved technical glitches, improper documentation and poor regulation of the amount of time aircraft spent in the air.

Meantime, Clickair will be operating two services a week from Barcelona to Malta - on Mondays and Thursday - until October with a capacity of 15,000 passengers both ways. However, it is estimated the airline will be carrying more than 5,000 passengers one way, "80 per cent of them tourists", says Minister for Tourism and Culture Francis Zammit Dimech.

Airline chief executive Alexander Cruz says it is Clickair's intention to fly the Barcelona-Malta route for as long as possible. At €20 for a one-way ticket, excluding taxes, the service is attractive and should prove popular - but the airline must first address the pilots' union allegations.

Valletta, 08/06/07 - Harbour Air's De Havilland Otter seaplane arrived in Malta at the end of May and will be used to operate scheduled flights between the Valletta Waterfront and Mgarr harbour in Gozo from the end of June.

Canadian-owned Harbour Air is planning to run 13 round trip flights a day from Valletta to Mgarr. Taking off and landing on the water, the flights will take about 10 minutes each way. The 10-seater aircraft, leaving from the Valletta Waterfront will land outside Mgarr harbour and taxi in to moor alongside a pontoon, like a boat.

The flights are planned to be cheaper early in the morning as an incentive for workers travelling between the islands. On the other hand, a shuttle bus will operate between Malta International Airport and the Valletta Waterfront to facilitate the trip for tourists who want to go directly to Gozo.

The seaplane will also be available for cruise passengers who will be able to visit Gozo for a few hours. Harbour Air will also operate scenic flights around the islands, also departing from the Valletta Waterfront.

Floating pontoons have been placed at both Valletta and Mgarr and offices at the upper vaults at the Valletta Waterfront are currently undergoing works. The next phase will be a series of tests that include take-offs and landings in the Grand Harbour.

Operations should start around the end of June and more information - including rates and a timetable - will be available on the company's website at www.harbourairmalta.com.

Harbour Air, meantime, is based in Vancouver, Canada, and operates scheduled and charter passenger services in British Columbia using seaplanes. The airline was founded and started operations in 1981 as Windoak Air Service to provide seaplane charter services for the forestry industry in British Columbia. It later added charter flights to resorts, and some scheduled services that were greatly increased in 1993. It operates a fleet 21 seaplanes.

St Julian's, 08/06/07 - The Hilton Malta is in expansion mode. Work on a new wing that will house an additional 113 rooms began last November and is expected to be completed by next April.

By this time next year the five star Hilton will have a total of 407 rooms and suites for sale.

"We need the additional capacity", director of sales and marketing Mario de Celis told Island Travel Trader Online.

With the existing 294 rooms "we've had situations, in July and August for instance, in which we've had to turn away corporate business because of a lack of rooms", explained de Celis. A shortage of rooms has also been evident in winter.

Being in great demand is always a good sign, being in great demand and being able to service that demand year-round is even better. And that is what the Hilton is aiming at.

With the additional rooms de Celis is confident the Hilton will be able "to secure bigger groups than ever before".

Located by the north wing of the hotel, construction work on the extension is so quiet and discreet one does not even realize what is going on. And to ensure the least disturbance to guests, works start at 08:30 and end at 18:00 daily. No work is carried out at weekends and public holidays. Nevertheless, the shell of the seven-storey extension is already finished.

The new rooms will be about the same size as existing accommodation; however, the furniture will be more contemporary and bathrooms will have two lab basins.

Meantime, the 79 rooms in the existing north and central wings have been refurbished. New carpeting has been laid in public areas and rooms. Sprinklers have been upgraded and soft furnishings changed.

"The refurbishment, carried out between last November and March, has refreshed the furnishings and decor without altering the classic style", explained de Celis.

Refurbishment of the south wing will be undertaken next year. Also scheduled for early 2008 is the installation of flat panel televisions and a new digital TV system, "to give our guests the ultimate in in-room entertainment".

Apart from building a new extension, the construction of a new freeform pool with an enormous deck area around it is now complete and is slated to open by the end of June. This area has been dubbed the Bay Club and is adjacent to the existing Merkanti Beach Club, now renamed the Marina Club.

For ongoing progress reports on the Hilton's extension go to www.hiltonmalta.com.mt.

Bugibba, 08/06/07 - The three star Primera Hotel reopened last month with a fresh look after "undergoing a significant refurbishment programme to further boost the quality of the hotel and enhance the competitive edge within the local three star market", explained general manager Ivan Borg. (See Bugibba's Primera to close for winter.)

The first guests at the spruced up Primera were a Welsh couple from Cardiff. This was not their first stay at the Bugibba property, but their fourth.

Hanover, 08/06/07 - Tui welcomes the approval by the European Commission of the planned merger to create Tui Travel plc. "This means we have taken the first crucial hurdle on the path to creating the world's leading travel group," says Tui chief executive Michael Frenzel. Furthermore, "with the merger we are expanding our leading position in Europe and are gaining more ground in the specialist tourism growth sector. The merger creates the world's biggest tourism platform. Together with First Choice we are writing a new growth story and will be ideally equipped to successfully face increasing competition in our industry". The clearance is subject to an undertaking to divest Tui's Budget Travel business in Ireland.

On the basis of the figures for the fiscal year 2006 the merger creates under the umbrella of Tui Travel plc a travel group with sales of some €18 billion. Last year some 27 million holidaymakers travelled with the tour operators and airlines of Tui Travel. The new plc expects the merger to liberate an annual synergy potential of about €150 million, which will come into full effect within the first three years after finalising the fusion. A major part of the synergy will be generated on the British market.

The next steps on the path to the merger include publishing the stock exchange prospectus for listing on the London Stock Exchange as well as the extraordinary general meeting of First Choice Holidays plc. The target date for publishing the prospectus is the end of June. All other exact dates will be decided shortly. Assuming the merger is approved by the necessary three-quarters majority, Tui Travel's first listing could take place at the start of October.

Mosta, 08/06/07 - The new flagship of the Italian cruise company, Costa Crociere, was christened last month in Marseilles. The Costa Serena is the 12th ship in the Costa fleet and the largest to fly the Italian flag at 112,000GRT and 1,500 cabins with a total guest capacity of 3,780.

The Serena entered service on 26 May operating seven-day eastern Mediterranean cruises from Venice. She will call at Malta twice in the coming year - in November and April 2008. Meantime, other Costa liners call at Valletta's Grand Harbour on a regular basis.

Costa Crociere, represented locally by SMS Travel and Tourism, is the largest cruise line company calling at Malta on a regular basis. This year will be a record one with nearly 100 Costa Crociere ships expected to call here.