Ryanair to operate Malta frequencies from October

Mosta, 30/08/06 - Irish low fares airline Ryanair today confirmed that it had submitted proposals to the government to fly three new routes to Malta International Airport from London Luton, Pisa and Dublin. The proposal is a response to the government's call to low cost airlines for offers to fly routes to the island.

Ryanair's plan is to launch, on a year round basis, a daily service from London Luton starting on 31 October, a three times weekly service from Pisa - also starting on 31 October and a three times weekly service from Dublin starting on 9 February 2007.

Announcing the proposals, Ryanair's deputy chief executive Michael Cawley said: "Ryanair is very pleased to respond to the call by the Maltese government to start routes to and from Malta International Airport. We have been encouraging the Maltese government to promote the advent of low cost airlines as a solution to the declining tourism industry.

"The provision of a long-term, low cost regime at MIA is crucial to the success of low fares airlines and we welcome the initiatives by the government to effectively reduce this cost over the long term.

"We believe this proposal is the start of a new era for Maltese tourism. The decline, which has been evident in their visitor numbers for some time, will now reverse and that success can be built upon with more growth which Ryanair is quite prepared to provide to Malta from its various bases throughout Europe in the coming years".

6,000 brand managers apply for cruises

Mosta, 25/08/06 - The Malta Tourism Authority has finally begun branding Malta, 13 months after the initiative was launched.

The opening shot in this blitz was the plastering of billboards all over the islands trying to explain what branding is and telling us that we - the population of the islands - are now brand managers. The same poster has appeared at bus stops and as adverts in virtually all local magazines and newspapers since mid-August.

To drive the message home all households received a bilingual booklet explaining what branding is and how it will enrich our lives (if not our bank accounts). And to entice people to read the 20-page booklet a covering letter was included that promised a raft of prizes if three questions were answered. The prizes included a "cruise for one around Europe" and a seven nights Nile cruise "for one".

Closing date for entries was 21 August.

The MTA undoubtedly spent thousands in the production and distribution of this booklet and covering letter (complete with spelling errors), but it failed to provide entrants with a way of identifying themselves and include their addresses when sending in their completed entries.

"It was an oversight", an MTA spokesman admitted to Island Travel Trader Online, "but there was ample space in the left hand column to insert all details", he continued, adding "that's what everyone's done. Common sense, I guess".

"Over 6,000" people responded to the questionnaire - from the 400,000 brand managers - "but there are more yet to be counted and sorted".

Another "oversight" was that no date was given for the prize drawing. This "will be held in the first week of September", Island Travel Trader Online was told and "winners will be notified within a couple of days".

Cruise traffic up 17 per cent over 2005

Valletta, 25/08/06 - Total cruise passenger traffic in Malta rose by 163 in July, up 0.4 per cent compared to the same month last year, the National Statistics Office reports.

Passenger departures, including people in transit and those embarking from Malta, dropped by 2.8 per cent to 39,058 from 40,197 in July 2005. This was a 6.7 per cent drop in transit passengers, principally because there were 3,082 fewer Spaniards than in July last year.

However, embarkations from Malta more than doubled in July compared to the same month a year ago up from 1,212 to 2,680. Passenger landings also doubled during the month, reflecting the increase in Maltese passengers.

Meantime, in the first seven months of the year, cruise passenger traffic rose by 17.7 per cent to 173,919 from 147,806.

Passenger departures increased by 16.2 per cent, mainly reflecting an increase in passengers in transit of 21,161. This was accounted for by passengers residing in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and the United States.

Embarkations from Malta went up by 2,357 during the period.

Passenger landings more than doubled during the period under review. The increase in embarkations was partly reflected in higher landings by Maltese passengers, although landings by persons residing in the United Kingdom and in the United States rose significantly as well.

The number of cruise liners calling at Malta decreased by three in July 2006, bringing the total for January to July to 164, up by nine over the same period last year.

Maltese outbound traffic up 7.5% over 2005

Valletta, 23/08/06 - In June 22,211 Malta residents traveled abroad, an increase of 9.6 per cent over June 2005.

More than 75 per cent of this increase was attributable to departures by catamaran for day trips to Sicily, the National Statistics Office claims.

In the first six months of the year, meanwhile, 105,414 Malta residents traveled internationally, an increase of 7.6 per cent over the same period in 2005, the National Statistics Office reports.

The most popular destination was Italy, with 30.9 per cent of the total travelling to our northern neighbour.

In the first six months of 2006, male travellers significantly exceeded female ones - the former accounting for 62.2 per cent of the total.

The greatest proportion of outbound passengers, 46.7 per cent, were aged between 25 and 44, followed by those in the 45 to 64 age bracket representing 42.2 per cent of the total.

Emirates to increase Malta frequencies

Mosta, 23/08/06 - Emirates will be adding a fifth frequency on its Dubai-Malta route from 1 September. The new service will be operated on Saturdays.

In other words, Emirates will be flying to Malta daily except for Tuesdays and Thursdays. The flights, including the new service, are designated as EK107 leaving Dubai at 08:35 and arriving here at 14:10 - after stopping-over at Larnaca.

The eastbound trip (EK108), also via Larnaca, departs from Malta at 14:50 and arrives in Dubai at 00:40 the following morning. The homeward bound flight is 45 minutes shorter than the westbound one. Emirates has Fifth Freedom rights on the Malta-Cyprus sector.

The Dubai-based carrier will use an Airbus A300-200 to operate this service, with a three-class configuration of 12 first class, 42 business and 183 coach seats. The aircraft can also carry 13 tonnes of cargo.

Malta Cruise Network to sponsor Naples fair

Valletta, 23/08/06 - As part of its strategy to create awareness of the islands in the cruise industry the Malta Cruise Network is sponsoring the European Cruise Fair, scheduled to be held in Naples on 18 and 19 October.

Aimed at familiarising travel agents with the cruise industry, the European Cruise Fair will include travel agent training covering "the forces shaping cruise ship deployment, cruise product differentiation, cruise sales skills and group bookings and conventions at sea".

Also planned are motivational presentations by Costa Cruises's Mario Martini and Domenico Pellegrino of MSC Cruises.

Seminars will be conducted in English and Italian with simultaneous English, Italian, Spanish and French interpretation. Agents from "across Europe will be exposed to Malta and will be presented with a certificate endorsed by the European Cruise Council from the Malta Cruise Network.

Museums and sites lose their appeal

Valletta, 23/08/06 - Last year 1,980,123 people visited museums in Malta and Gozo, a drop of 4.2 per cent over 2004, the National Statistics Office reports.

In 2005 the greatest number of admissions was to museums of art followed by archaeology and history museums, monuments and sites. Almost one fifth of admissions where to sites in Gozo - 385,020, which however was a 9.5 per cent drop in visits over 2004's figure of 425,323.

In Gozo, monuments and sites were the most popular, closely followed by art museums.

Last year museums and historical sites earned Lm1,864,522 in admission fees, an increase of Lm303,087 over 2004.

Sam and Dave to run the MTA

Mosta, 19/08/06 - Remember Sam and Dave, one of the most exciting acts of the 1960s and soul music's most popular duo? Well, the Sam and Dave of 2006 are not the same chaps!

This new duo is set to take over the running of the Malta Tourism Authority on 1 September. As was announced at the end of July, Sam Mifsud has been appointed chairman of the authority - replacing Romwald Lungaro Mifsud, who returns to his previous employment at Corinthia Hotels International.

At the end of last week the rumour that had been making the rounds for several weeks was confirmed when the Ministry for Tourism and Culture announced that David Mifsud has been hired as the MTA's new chief executive.

Like his namesake - and new boss - Sam, David starts work at the Auberge d' Italie on 1 September.

David Mifsud was first employed by Joe Tabone and Co and later by the Winston Group of Restaurants. In 1979 he joined Merit Malta as finance manager. In 1986 he was appointed finance and human resources director, a position he occupied until 1998 when he was promoted to managing director of Methode Electronics Malta, formerly Merit Malta.

Mifsud is married and has three children.

Agencies merge to form Top 3 Travel

Valletta, 19/08/06 - Top 3 Travel Solutions, which started operating on 1 July, intends to become the "dominant travel management company in Malta".

"Top 3 Travel Solutions will make its foray into the Maltese travel market as the nation's largest TMC following the merger of Howards Travel, EC Travel and Unique Travel", a company release says.

For the time being the three will continue to operate separately, eventually the individual companies will be phased out.

"Economies of scale and bargaining power are the backbone of this venture and the reason for the merger", Unique Travel's Richard Tua says.

"We are each specialised in different fields, and each brings that speciality to the partnership", explains EC Travel's Edward Papps. In Papps's case EC is known for its tour operating, Unique Travel's principal market is corporate and company travel whilst Michael Gatt's Howards is strong on FITs and destination management.

15 Corinthia hotels to be rebranded Ramada Plaza in new deal

Floriana, 11/08/06 - The Corinthia Group and Wyndham Hotel Group have agreed to jointly manage hotels under the Wyndham and Ramada brands in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

The agreement was signed yesterday at the Corinthia Group's head office in Floriana by Steven Rudnitsky, Wyndham Hotel Group president and chief executive officer, and Alfred Pisani, Corinthia Group chairman and chief executive.

Under terms of the deal, 15 existing Corinthia-owned hotels across Europe, Africa and the Mediterranean will be rebranded as Ramada Plaza and Wyndham hotels, and certain Corinthia branded properties will be affiliated with a new tier, the Wyndham Grand Collection.

Wyndham Hotel Group will also enter into a partnership with Corinthia Hotels International to offer hotel management services to those brands in the EMEA region.

Under the partnership, the companies expect to gain mutual efficiencies by consolidating support functions including sales and marketing, which will focus on driving business to Ramada, Wyndham and Corinthia hotels in the region.

"This relationship will expand our portfolio in the EMEA region and establish our management business, which will become an integral component of our expansion strategy," said Rudnitsky.

"Our goal is to deliver more bookings to existing Corinthia properties by integrating them into our sales, marketing and distribution systems."

Pisani said his company will explore opportunities to develop Ramada, Wyndham and Wyndham Grand Collection hotels throughout the region.

"Our association with Wyndham Hotel Group will expand our profile and provide a much broader base of potential customers through their worldwide distribution system," Pisani said.  "Our knowledge of the markets and experience developing and managing upscale hotels in the region will accelerate Wyndham Hotel Group's ability to expand its portfolio."

Pending customary regulatory approval and conditions of closing, the deal is expected to be finalised within the next 60 days. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Barceló Riviera looks at conference boom

Marfa, 11/08/06 - Another 50 rooms have been added at the Barceló Riviera Resort & Spa, bringing the total to 246. The rooms are located on a new, top floor of the four star property.

The additional rooms - configured as a combination of doubles and twins - have increased the hotel's bed stock to 516, sales and marketing manager Henri Mattocks told Island Travel Trader Online.

Although the property's room stock has been enlarged, the hotel's timeshare capacity has not. No new units have been added to augment the existing eight.

The Barceló's 12 family rooms, meanwhile, have been upgraded. These now have new furniture, larger beds and sport flat screen TVs.

Refurbishment, however, is an ongoing process, said Mattocks. "Every winter, usually from November onwards, we strip a number of rooms to their bare walls and paint and upgrade them. The number of rooms worked on depends on the occupancy level, as we do not close the hotel".

This constant up keeping of the property pays-off, and having a top quality spa certainly does not hinder sales. The Barceló runs at a high occupancy for most of the year.

The hotel is popular year-round on the German, French, British and Swedish markets. For a property that carries a Spanish brand, one would expect it to be full of Spaniards, not so. Because of the lack of air links with the Iberian peninsula for most of the year, the hotel only hosts' Spanish guests in summer - ditto the Italian and Russian markets.

Said Mattocks: "We had a good July and August is coming along nicely, we have a higher occupancy compared to August 2005. The rest of the year is also looking better than last year, even when you take into account that we have more rooms to fill".

The spa market is doing well, especially from France. The leisure market is also performing well but the conference segment has remained static, despite the fact that the hotel is popular on the local corporate scene.

Mattocks believes this will change because of the additional rooms available. "Now that we can accommodate 200 plus delegates, I'm sure we will be able to attract more international conferences".

Ironically, the incentives niche - usually linked with conferences - is "doing okay". The reason being that "most incentive events are carried out in the north of the island, and our location is ideal", explained Mattocks.

Park Hotel gets a facelift

Sliema, 11/08/06 - The most obvious change at the four star Park Hotel is the new façade, "it's been updated and we've changed the balustrades" explains general manager Charles Selvaggi.

Possibly of greater importance is the refurbishment and upgrading that's going on at this popular Sliema hotel.

So far, 15 apartments have been renovated. Works have included new floor tiles, the changing of bathroom fittings and the installation of new kitchenettes and accessories.

Planned for this winter is the redecorating of as many rooms as possible. Besides a new colour scheme, bathrooms will be upgraded. The entire project is expected to take a couple of years and "the hotel will remain open", says Selvaggi, adding that "works will in no way disturb guests".

The property's public areas will also be upgraded and generally spruced up.

Timeshare touts investigated for 'aggressive selling'

Mosta, 11/08/06 - More than a month ago new regulations aimed at minimising the harassment of tourists by timeshare touts, fancifully known as OPCs, were passed. Since then "a positive outcome has already been registered", the Ministry for Tourism and Culture reports.

The regulatory directorate of the Malta Tourism Authority is investigating over 15 cases of reported abuses ranging from working without a valid licence to over-aggressive selling.

"A dramatic drop in the number of complaints has been observed and this is indicative that this exercise, covering seven days a week, is indeed having the desired effect", says the ministry.

The new regulations are the result of a series of meetings between representatives of the timeshare industry and officials from the Ministry for Tourism and Culture and the Malta Tourism Authority. These go a long way in establishing a proper conduct of OPC activity "through various measures including the proper licensing of the marketing companies and the levying of heavy fines in the eventuality of defaults".

To facilitate enforcement, marketing companies are being requested to deposit money, in the form of bonds, from which the eventual fines will be paid, whilst greater financial and human resources have been dedicated to intensify monitoring and enforcement.

Suncrest changes light bulbs, launches new website

Qawra, 04/08/06 - A month ago the Suncrest Hotel received four container loads of soft furnishings and fittings from China, signalling the start of a refurbishment programme.

Rooms are not only to be given a new coat of paint but also a new colour scheme, new soft furnishings and full-length mirrors.

Bathrooms, meantime, will have new tubs and shower curtains, new fittings, lighting fixtures and mirrors.

Because this is planned as a rolling refurbishment, without closing the four star hotel, the entire process will take about a year to complete, the Suncrest's chief executive, Philippe Lonfat, told Island Travel Trader Online.

On the other hand, the resurfacing of the hotel's main conference hall - the Poseidon Room - is due to be completed by 20 August, 42 days after works began.

The Poseidon's wall-to-wall carpeting has been ripped out and is being replaced with parquet flooring.

This coming winter the property's plant room will be renovated, lifts upgraded and public areas spruced up. And the Cascade coffee shop will be totally revamped and probably themed, said Lonfat. Light bulbs, meanwhile, are being changed throughout the hotel to the energy saving variety - included in the consignment from China were 8,000 of these.

On the electronics front WiFi is being installed and the hotel has just launched a new website. The restyled site is elegant, easy to navigate and now offers online bookings.

Opened in 1988 with 453 rooms, the publicly quoted Suncrest remains Malta's biggest hotel - it beats the InterContinental by two rooms - consequently yield is vitally important.

Said Lonfat, who was appointed earlier this year: "My objective is to improve the hotel's yield by increasing occupancy and rates, particularly in the shoulder and winter periods".

In the shorter term, this summer, Lonfat said occupancy is on a par with last year. The United Kingdom remains the Suncrest's premier market; however, reflecting the country's arrival figures, the hotel has suffered a drop in British visitors. This has been made up by a greater number of Scandinavians guests.

BAS takes over Med Holidays

Mosta, 04/08/06 - Cassar and Cooper subsidiary Med Holiday Services, in business for more than 30 years, ceased operating on 1 August.

The company's business has been transferred to BAS Ltd, another Cassar and Cooper owned company. 

Med Holidays's St Julian's office has been relinquished and staff has moved to BAS's South Street office in Valletta.

John Azzopardi, general manager of Med Holidays, has been appointed incoming travel manager at BAS. He is responsible for the handling of represented tour operators and the CIT department.

BAS is located at 54 South Street, Valletta. Tel: 25584545 Fax: 21237879 E-mail: incoming@cassar-cooper.com. Site: www.cassar-cooper.com

World Wide Language Academy closes

Mosta, 04/08/06 - English language school World Wide Language Academy (WWLA), managed by Jeanette Cini Regignano, has closed. The European School of English has rented WWLA's premises in Swieqi "just for the summer".

WWLA, opened in early 2005, is still licensed by the Ministry of Education to operate.

MHRA calls on government to reverse tourism's downward spiral

Sliema, 04/08/06 - The negative tourism figures for June are of "concern" to the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA). The results for the first six months of the year show a decrease of 4.3 per cent in arrivals over last year's figures and a drop of 2.8 per cent in bed nights spent in hotels.

And from a preliminary forecast available to the association, arrivals for July are also expected to be down on last year, "and this negative trend is also visible in the coming peak months".

"The continuous drop in Malta's traditional UK market is of concern and every effort must be made by the authorities to reverse the situation", says the MHRA.  The 16.3 per cent drop in UK arrivals in June is an "all time high", claims the association.

The distribution of inbound traffic in hotels by category for the first six months of 2006 seems to be prevailing well with the five star properties registering a 10 per cent increase, whilst four star hotels are just under one per cent below the same period last year. However the three star category seems to be suffering the most with a drop of 19.85 per cent over last year. On the other hand two star properties registered an increase from 5,236 to 8,125 tourists, a 52.55 per cent hike.

As regards locality, St Julian's and Mellieha were the favourite areas chosen by tourists in the first six months of the year; whilst Marsascala, St Paul's Bay, Sliema and Valletta all registered decreases in visitors with the highest drop in the St Paul's Bay area. Gozo registered a slight increase of 5.3 per cent.

Revenue generated for the period under review is still disappointing, notwithstanding the increase in occupancy registered in five star hotels.  The average spend excluding airfare on non-package tourists, yielded a 1.7 per cent increase per capita.

The decreasing number of visitors is a negative signal for the industry, says the MHRA. The MTA's restructuring and the assurance of marketing initiatives abroad have not yielded the desired growth to date. The MHRA is "earnestly awaiting the outcome of the tendering process underway at present under the government scheme to attract low cost carriers to operate to the island as early as possible. The MHRA does not consider LCCs as the only solution to increase numbers of visitors to the islands, but also every effort should be directed at marketing the islands in an innovative manner, upgrade further the Malta product and create the necessary awareness for all Maltese to embrace the branding core values of hospitality, diversity and heritage".

New tourism studies complex for Gozo

Victoria, 04/08/06 - Construction is underway on a major project that is being co-financed by the European Union in Gozo - the training facility for tourism studies in Qala.

The project involves the demolition of the existing Institute for Tourism Studies (ITS) complex and the building of a new facility. This involves an investment of €1.5 million (Lm650,000) under the Structural Funds Programme for Malta for 2004-2006, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund. It includes the construction of a restaurant, bar, main kitchen, kitchen for training purposes, a reception, classrooms, laundry, library and facilities for housekeeping and accommodation.

This project will make it possible for Gozitan workers and students, who wish to pursue a career in the tourism industry, to benefit from further training opportunities and a wider selection of courses in Gozo. Complementing this project, the government is offering a number of courses in Gozo, co-financed by the European Social Fund. The courses, available free of charge to Gozitans over 16, are being offered in food preparation and production, food and beverage service, housekeeping, bartending and customer care in a temporary institute at Xewkija.

Access to waterfront improved with car park tunnel

Valletta, 04/08/06 - VISET, operator of the Valletta Waterfront, is installing new signage to guide visitors through a tunnel which connects the Waterfront to the multi-storey car park in Floriana. The well-lit tunnel allows visitors to reach the Waterfront from the car park on foot in approximately five minutes.

The opening of this link - which starts at level six of the car park and emerges next to the old power station - has already had a positive impact on the volume of traffic at the Valletta Waterfront.