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MHRA to launch F&B standards scheme Floriana, 28/06/10 – The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association plans to launch a ‘recommended label’ scheme for F&B outlets, association president George Micallef told Island Travel Trader Online. This scheme will recognise restaurants that “demonstrate a commitment to deliver quality and value for money to customers”. This label, explains Micallef, will provide customers with a quality assurance and guarantee of professional management of an establishment. Awarding a recommended label will depend on mystery shoppers eating at restaurants and checking whether they “embrace a set of criteria that guarantees the provision of a good standard of service, food quality and a commitment towards excellence and good practices for the catering industry”. Restaurants that will be awarded the recommended label will be promoted in dineinmalta.com. Cruises International sets a new travel record Valletta, 28/06/10 - Cruises International have set a new record by having the largest group of Maltese travelling on a single cruise originating in Malta. Chartered by Valletta-based Cruises International, the liner Costa Allegra will carry 930 passengers departing from Valletta on 29 June for a one week cruise to the Adriatic Sea that will include calls in Italy, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia. This is the first of a short series of cruises, each of 930 Maltese passengers. It is believed that the previous record for the largest number of Maltese travelling on a single trip occurred five years ago when a local tour operator chartered a Corsair Boeing B-747 in an all-economy configuration that carried 580 passengers for a weekend to Disneyland Paris. New attraction opens in Valletta Valletta, 24/06/10 – Valletta Living History is a new multilingual audiovisual attraction inaugurated this morning by prime minister Lawrence Gonzi. The 35-minute show, housed at the Embassy Complex, chronicles Valletta’s history. Audiences will learn the city’s story - in English, French, Italian, German, Russian, Spanish, Swedish and Japanese - beginning with the arrival of the first settlers to its role in World War II and right up to present day. The show is a combination of reenactments, photographs and computer graphics. Unlike a standard documentary with a voice over, in Living History a resident of Valletta tells the city’s story to a young girl planning to move to the island. And as he relates epic milestones, such as the great siege, these are effectively illustrated with period reenactments. The only flaw in an otherwise excellent production is that the girl intending to move here would have been more convincing had she not had a Maltese accent. Produced by Michael Soler’s HD Entertainment, the docudrama was written by Jonathan Rich and directed by Vince Briffa of MPS-PictureBox. Valletta Living History is screened daily at 09:30, 10:15, 11:00, 11:45, 12:30, 13:15, 14:00 and 14:45 and costs €9.75 for an adult, €4 for children, €7 for children whilst a family pack retails at €25. Meantime, to celebrate the launch of Valletta Living History, throughout July guests will be given a complimentary soft drink or a bag of popcorn when booking, as well as a discount token to be used when shopping at the Embassy complex. Hoteliers clawing back lost ground Sliema, 21/06/10 - The tourism industry is managing to claw back some of the lost ground, says Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association president George Micallef. He was speaking at the association’s quarterly meeting, reviewing the accommodation survey it regularly carries out. The meeting was held at the five star Palace. Micallef went on to caution against benchmarking performance solely against the results for 2009, “which was one of the worst years in recent history for the tourism industry. “Notwithstanding the gains registered in 2010, our results are still a far cry from what we achieved in 2007 and 2008 and we must continue to double our efforts to surpass the results achieved in these benchmark years”. The key performance indicators for the tourism sector for Q1 all improved when compared to the corresponding period last year, but fell short of what was achieved in 2008. The survey results confirm that the five star category was the primary beneficiary from the rise in guest nights, which enabled it to claw back approximately 50 per cent of the drop in occupancy in 2009. The four and three star categories notched comparable occupancy levels to 2009 but failed to make up for the volume losses registered last year. The 17.6 per cent increase in tourist expenditure did not result in significant improvements in room rates. Whereas the three and four star categories registered rate improvements of 10 and 9 points respectively, rates in five star properties decreased by five per cent. Commenting on the correlation between tourist expenditure and average achieved room rate, Raphael Aloisio of Deloitte Malta, made the point that: “Although tourist expenditure levels increased significantly, analysis shows that with changing tourist preferences, an increasing percentage of total spend is flowing away from hotels to other operators in the tourism sector. Hotels must clearly take heed of these new realities and find effective ways of realigning their food and beverage operating strategies with the increased propensity for tourists, especially in the five star category, to seek alternative eating venues outside the hotel”. The combined effect of changes in occupancy, achieved room rate and decreasing food and beverage spend, resulted in total revenue for five star hotels remaining at the same levels as 2009 and 20 per cent below 2008. Hotels in the four star category only managed to recover one fifth of the drop in revenue registered in 2009, whereas three star hotels registered a six per cent increase in total revenue and managed to claw back 29 per cent of the drop in revenue registered in the corresponding period last year. Overheads increased by 10.5 points and 4.6 per cent respectively in the five and four star hotel categories, primarily as a result of the increase in energy costs of 24.5 per cent (five star) and 14.1 per cent (four star). The increase in costs had a direct negative impact on results and contributed to higher operating losses for the quarter. “Notwithstanding the generally improving trends in the key tourism performance indicators, it is becoming increasingly evident that rate pressure, loss of food and beverage sales and higher energy costs are making it difficult for hoteliers in the four and five star categories to make any immediate significant inroads towards recovering performance levels registered in 2007 and 2008”. However, Micallef remains confident that if all stakeholders continue to pull in the same direction and resist the temptation of cutting rates unnecessarily, the industry can look forward to securing more tangible gains. “Although we are now seeing a steady increase in arrivals, which should continue in the coming months, I must underline that the increase in arrivals envisaged for this year would only make good for the substantial increases in operating costs emanating from the utility rates”. Micallef called on the government to ensure that the tourism industry is not burdened with any further government induced costs, as this will not only render it less competitive, but will also jeopardise the sustainability of the entire industry. CHI to manage Sicilian golf resort hotels Floriana, 15/06/10 - CHI Hotels and Resorts has signed a 20-year management agreement with Italian companies Off Side and Sicilia Golf Resort for the operation of two upscale golf resort hotels in Taormina and Catania, Sicily. The two resorts, currently under construction and scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2012, are the Corinthia Taormina Golf Resort and the Wyndham Catania Golf Resort.
Taormina has been one of Sicily's top travel destinations since it became part of the European Grand Tour in the 19th Century and Sicily's first resort.
Catania is a port and Sicily’s second largest city after Palermo. Catania lies in the shadow of the volcano Mount Etna. “We are excited at the prospect of taking two of our top brands to Italy for the first time” said CHI’s chief executive officer and managing director Tony Potter. “With these wonderful projects, we are also adding a new dimension to our operational base - that of including the golf resort business to our already diverse portfolio of hotels. “We are a pioneering hotel company with a 45- year track record of operating some of the top award- winning luxury hotels in major cities and resorts around the world. We now look forward to repeating our success story in Italy as well”, adds Potter. Ash cloud curtails outbound travel Valletta, 11/06/10 - Outbound travel in April dropped by nearly a quarter when compared to the previous year, reaching an estimated 16,443. Moreover, in April 2,132 travelled internationally on day trips, according to the National Statistics Office (NSO). The drop in travel was caused by the volcanic eruption in Iceland and the resulting ash cloud that forced the closure of northern European airports. In April, outbound travel to EU destinations was calculated at 14,108, down by 27 per cent when compared to last year. Italy and the UK were the most popular destinations. A further 2,335 people headed towards non-EU destinations. The majority of travellers were males - 9,984 - whilst the largest proportion was in the 25 to 44 age group. In the first four months of 2010, outbound travel was estimated at 73,940, down by one per cent when compared to last year. This decline was solely due to the drop in traffic in April. An estimated 85 per cent of outbound travellers chose to visit EU destinations. The most visited countries were the UK and Italy. The largest proportion of outbound passengers was in the 25 to 44 age bracket, followed by those in the 45 to 64 group. The 0 to 24 age group registered a substantial increase in trips and stood at 13,612, according to the NSO. MIA May results unscathed by volcanic ash aftermath Luqa, 03/06/10 - Malta International Airport reports a 19.3 per cent increase that corresponds to 307,292 passenger movements for May, in comparison to the same month last year. Moreover, passenger movements for the first five months of this year, compared to the same period last year, have registered an increase of 7.7 per cent for the total of 1,049,580 passenger movements. The result is mainly due to the increased seat capacity and additional routes available. Flight movements for May increased by 13.8 points over May 2009 and the seat load factor registered a 2.8 percentage point difference. The maximum take-off weight (MTOW) rose by 13.2 per cent, whilst cargo increased by 16.9 per cent when compared to the same period in 2009. This performance comes “as a welcome boost after a rather dismal April that was marred by the Icelandic eruptions that affected the European airspace”. The core markets all registered significant increases in May with Spain leading with a 134 per cent over the same month last year. On the other hand Rome’s Fiumicino airport ranked highest as top destination in contrast to the British airport destinations that expectedly marked a decrease as still affected by the volcanic ash consequences. Cruise line traffic up 47% in four months Valletta, 02/06/10 - In April cruise passenger traffic totalled 56,192, up by 48.1 per cent compared to last year. There were 33 cruise liner calls in the month, the National Statistics Office (NSO) reports. The number of excursionists stood at 53,834 and made up 95.8 per cent of the total. Passengers from EU countries accounted for 81.5 per cent of total traffic, with Italy being the main source market. Same-day visitors from non-EU countries stood at 10,397, of whom 44.3 per cent were from the United States. Total cruise passenger traffic in Malta for the first four months of 2010 stood at 102,156, an increase of 46.5 per cent over the comparative period last year. Same-day visitors from EU countries accounted for 77.5 per cent of total traffic, with Italy and Germany being the leading source markets. In particular, the Italian market more than trebled when compared to 2009. On the other hand, excursionists from Britain registered a drop of 45.9 per cent. With regard to non-EU countries, the number of cruise passengers from Australia and Japan went up by 804 and 705 respectively. On a gender basis, females comprised 51.8 per cent of total cruise passengers. The largest proportion - 37.5 per cent - related to persons aged between 60 and 79, followed by those in the 40 to 59 age bracket, at 31 per cent of the total. Valletta, 02/06/10 – The British Hotel has upgraded room facilities. Now all its twin and triple bedrooms have flat screen, LCD televisions and safe deposit boxes. The two star property has also installed a WiFi network that is available free in public areas. The signal is also available in some rooms, whilst in others it is not because of the thickness of the walls. Compensation increase for ‘bumped’ US passengers Mosta, 02/06/10 - Passengers bumped from overbooked flights in the United States could be in line for an increase in compensation following a decision from the Department of Transport. At present airlines are obliged to offer compensation of $400 or $800 to bumped passengers depending on the length the delay, reports Airline News. This could now be set to increase to $1,200 following a sharp increase in the number of passengers bumped from flights in the United States. According to official statistics incidents of passengers being bumped from oversold flights increased in three of the past four years and jumped by 762,422 per cent in 2009 alone. This is the highest total since 2002. Moreover, with capacity in the airline industry being reduced in the face of the economic slowdown, passengers are often forced to wait longer for a replacement flight. However, airlines argue this is explained by an increase in the number of passengers taking to the skies. According to the Transportation Department’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics fewer than 13 in 10,000 American aviation passengers were bumped from their flights last year, while the figure has historically been closer to 20 in 10,000. In response to the developing situation United States transportation secretary Ray LaHood is expected to adjust the amount of compensation on offer to account for inflation. At present when a flight is overbooked passengers who voluntarily give up their seats are entitled to travel vouchers, while those forced off flights must be paid in cash. MHRA accuses government of insensitivity over road works San Gwann, 01/06/10 – The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) is objecting to the rebuilding of the road to Xlendi, Gozo, in summer, “when business in tourism zones…starts to pick up after a long winter”. Similar works started a couple of weeks ago in Marsaxlokk, Malta, “during which restaurants and similar establishments witnessed their business almost grind to a halt, because of the rebuilding of the road along the promenade”. The MHRA says it has been advocating the need to upgrade and maintain Malta’s key tourism zones for the past decade and “welcomes such upgrading projects, nevertheless it deplores the timing of such works, irrespective to reasons given by the authorities responsible to justify the timing”. It all boils down to lack of proper planning, says the MHRA: “Whatever the cause, such works should never start at the beginning or during the summer season. “Despite existing legal notices which prohibit such works in summer, it appears that the government is the first to contravene them, whilst consultation on such works with the affected parties, leaves a lot to be desired. In the case of Marsaxlokk, restaurant operators were given five days notice, whilst plant and machinery was being brought on site. One can hardly describe this as a consultation process”. The MHRA says it was told that such works could not be undertaken in the winter months because of bad weather. “One wonders how northern countries, who are subject to worse weathers conditions than Malta, cope with such works. It all boils down to lack of planning”. The MHRA “strongly feels that the government is insensitive to the concerns of the affected business operators, whose livelihood depends upon the business generated from May to September. This, is more so, when one considers the decline in business experienced in the past year as a result of the effects of the recession”. Ryanair Malta base to sustain 'airport jobs' Luqa, 18/05 /10 – Ryanair opened its long-awaited base in Malta today, with one aircraft and a staff of 30. This is the Irish low cost carrier’s 41st base in Europe. The Boeing B737-800 based here operated its first services to Valencia and Seville today. Tomorrow it will fly the first frequencies to Bologna and Krakow, whilst on 21 May Marseille and Billund come on line. Ryanair claims, in a press release, that having an aircraft based here will “sustain 800 jobs at Malta Airport” and that it will generate an additional 800,000 passengers a year to the islands. The airline’s sales and marketing manager, Luis Fernández-Mellado, meanwhile, was more diplomatic and told a press conference having an aicraft based here would create 800 jobs locally. With the introduction of six new routes from Malta, Ryanair’s network to Malta covers 19 destinations. And to “celebrate” the event, the carrier is selling 500,000 seats from €5 for travel across its European network in June, which are available for booking on it website until Thursday midnight, 20 May. EU liquids ban in place until 2013 Mosta, 14/05/10 - The European Union has confirmed restrictions preventing passengers carrying liquids onto aircraft will remain in place until April 2013. By this time all European airports must be equipped with scanners to monitor liquids carried by passengers under new European Commission rules, theoretically cutting risks, reports Airline News. At present passengers are restricted to containers of 100ml or less, which must be carried in a clear plastic bag measuring no more than 20cm by 20cm. After the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York, the EU adopted its first common rules on aviation security in early 2002. The rules included detailed provisions on access to sensitive areas or airports, aircraft security, passenger screening and baggage handling, control of cargo and mail, staff screening and training, and items prohibited on board planes or in airports. Before 2002, each member state had its own rules for aviation security. The rules were tightened further in 2006 following further terrorist activity, with the EU now going some way to addressing passenger concerns. As a preliminary step in phasing out the restrictions on liquids, as from 29 April 2011 at the latest, duty-free liquids purchased at third country airports or on board third country airlines and carried in tamper evident bags will be allowed as cabin baggage and will be screened. At present, these liquids are only allowed in cabin baggage if they come from selected third countries - the United States, Canada, Singapore and Croatia. Siim Kallas, commission vice president in charge of transport, said: “A lot has been learnt since the first EU-wide rules putting in place common aviation security standards were put in place after September 11. “This is about building on the experience of recent years and streamlining procedures, so that on a daily basis security controls are easier for industry to implement. “For passengers, the aim is also to simplify wherever possible the necessary security controls. “In that sense this package takes a significant step forwards in signalling the beginning of the end for the current restrictions on liquids in cabin baggage, with a clear and final deadline of April 2013”, he concluded. Air Malta introduces Turin frequency Luqa, 14/05/10 – Today sees the introduction of a twice-weekly frequency to Turin by Air Malta. Ten days ago, the carrier started operating to Genoa. The airline is committing to float more than 7,000 seats on these routes that are expected to generate new tourism opportunities from the Italian market. KM’s Turin flight will be operated directly every Monday and Friday. Flights to Genoa, started on 4 May, are flown via Reggio Calabria every Tuesday and Saturday. Following the opportunities from EU accession, whereby Air Malta can sell seats on intra-European flights, the flag carrier is able to operate and sell seats on the Reggio Calabria/Genoa sectors. Such opportunities make flights such as the Malta/Genoa route feasible for KM. The Italian market has always been important for the airline. The Rome route was amongst the handful that Air Malta operated to since its inception in April 1974. Throughout the years the Italian market has grown and last year it became the second largest after the UK for tourism to Malta. In 2009, Air Malta transported 259,139 scheduled passengers to and from Italy, representing an increase of two per cent. As from the end of this month, Air Malta will be increasing its seat capacity on the Italian market by around 60,000 more seats, up 20 per cent increase on last year. To celebrate the launch of these new services, Air Malta is offering special two-way fares starting at €79, inclusive of all taxes. These two routes complement Air Malta’s other Italian routes to Bologna, Verona, Rome and Milan that are also being sold at €79. No service fees are charged on tickets issued via Air Malta’s portal www.airmalta.com. An additional fee of €5 on each ticket is applicable to tickets issued from the call centre, while each ticket issued from the airline’s sales office is subject to a €10 service fee. As always, conditions and travel restrictions on these offers apply. Amphora launches summer brochure Mosta, 13/05/10 – Amphora Travel has published its summer 2010 brochure with a lead-in price of €260 for three nights at the four star Houria Palace in Port el Kantaoui, Tunisia, inclusive of flights and taxes. “In this year’s brochure”, says Amphora’s managing director Yvonne Ellul, “we have prepared packages to Tunisia that include twice-weekly flights with Sevenair, airport transfers, taxes and accommodation”. Also featured are packages to Hammamet, Yasmine Hammamet, Tabarka and Gammarth along with three or four day desert safaris. The launch of Gzira-based Amphora’s tour brochure was held at a luncheon co-sponsored by the Tunisian embassy, the Tunisian national tourist office – the ONTT - and by Sevenair. Amphora is also packaging holidays to Jordan, Egypt and Libya. Valletta, 12/05/10 – An estimated 22,674 Malta residents went abroad in March, an increase of 18.4 per cent over March 2009, the National Statistics Officer reports. Trips to EU destinations were estimated at 19,145, an increase of 2,473 trips when compared to the corresponding month last year. A further 3,529 people headed towards non-EU destinations. The UK and Italy continued to be the most popular destinations for Malta residents. In Q1, meantime, an estimated 57,497 people travelled from Malta, up by nine per cent when compared to 2009. An estimated 85 per cent of tourists chose to visit EU destinations. The most visited countries were UK and Italy. The largest proportion of travellers was aged between 25 and 44, followed by those in the 45 to 64 group. The average length of trips was 7.1 nights and varied by type of accommodation. The average length of stay in private accommodation was estimated at 10.5 nights, while that in hotels stood at 5.6 nights. As expected, the majority of trips during this period were for holiday purposes. The total expenditure on outbound journeys during Q1 was estimated at €56.5 million, equivalent to €983 per person. Air traffic down six points in April Luqa, 07/05/10 - In April Malta International Airport registered a decrease of six per cent in passenger movements over the corresponding month of 2009. Notwithstanding the decrease in April the first four months of 2010 still registered an overall increase of 3.6 points over 2009. Total passenger movements on scheduled and non-scheduled flights in April were of 239,553 a decrease of 15,370 passengers when compared to the corresponding month in 2009. Aircraft movements decreased by 1.3 per cent while cargo and mail figures registered an increase of 0.1 per cent. Passenger traffic for Italy and Spain increased by 26.3 per cent, and 33.6 per cent, whilst the UK, Germany and France decreased by 7.8, 29.5 and 2.5 per cent respectively. The busiest day in April was the sixth with 13,724 passengers and 106 aircraft movements. Q1 cruise traffic up 44 per cent Valletta, 01/05/10 - In March 25,533 passengers came to Malta aboard 10 cruise liners - an increase of 20,480 passengers compared to the same month in 2009. Last year only three liners called at Malta, seven less than this March, according to the National Statistics Office. As always, passengers from EU countries made up the majority of cruise liner passengers; in March the figure was 78.9 per cent. On a nationality basis, Italians ranked top, closely followed by Germans. Moreover, excursionists from non-EU countries stood at 5,392, of which 43.9 per cent were from the United States. Total cruise passenger traffic for the first quarter of 2010, meantime, totalled 45,964, an increase of 44.5 per cent over Q1 of 2009. Visitors from EU countries accounted for 72.6 per cent of total traffic. Passengers from Germany, Italy and France registered an increase, whereas drops were recorded in the British and Spanish markets. On a gender basis, females accounted for 52.2 per cent of the total traffic. The largest proportion of passengers - 47per cent - comprised those aged between 60 and 79, followed by those in the 40 to 59 age bracket, accounting for 29.3 per cent of the total. Book early and save offer from KM Luqa, 01/05/10 - Book early and travel on Air Malta from only €79 to nine destinations. This price includes return airfare and all applicable taxes. The Book Early & Save special offer is valid for travel to Rome, Milan, Catania, Sofia, Reggio Calabria, Hamburg, Athens, Istanbul and Berlin between 8 November 2010 and 9 April 2011 (excluding the period from 22 December to 9 January). The catch is that reservations are to be made and ticketed by 30 June 2010. Commenting on this offer, Brian Bartolo, Air Malta’s general manager marketing and product said, “Our Book Early & Save campaign is aimed at those who would like to plan their short break during the shoulder months and benefit from a good variety of interesting destinations at a very attractive rates. The airline is confirming its commitment to maintain low prices whilst offering an enhanced level of service”. Mosta, 26/04/10 - Hertz is buying its smaller rival Dollar Thrifty for $1.2 billion in a deal that heralds significant consolidation in the global car rental market, and will also strengthen its share of the leisure market. The deal will give Hertz, the world’s largest car rental company, another 1,550 locations, boosting its total to 9,800. The cash-and-stock offer of $41 per share is at a 5.5 per cent premium to Dollar Thrifty’s Friday close of $38.85, which values the company at $1.17 billion. The deal, which will be 80 per cent cash and 20 per cent stock, is expected to bolster Hertz’s share of the leisure market. In its core US market, the only other publicly-listed company remains Avis Budget. Hertz chief executive Mark Frissora said: “Dollar Thrifty also has a strong international presence, complementing our global footprint, which enables us to utilise a recognised brand to accelerate our leisure rental strategy in Europe and other markets". Malta suffers more from ash crisis than elsewhere Mosta, 23/04/10 - Malta was affected "much more" than any other European country by the ash cloud that grounded thousands of flights over the past week, according to Parliamentary Secretariat for Tourism, Mario de Marco, writes Christian Peregin in The Times (of Malta). "We are the most dependent on air transport. About 98 per cent of our tourists come by air, so anything that affects the airline industry will affect us”, he said. Estimates showed a loss of 13,000 tourists over the past week alone. These would have either cancelled or postponed their visit, depending on how flexible their plans were. With an average of seven bed nights each, this means that almost 90,000 bed nights were lost this month. The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association estimated that about 40,000 arrivals were lost, taking into consideration those who cancelled due to uncertainty. Another problem exacerbating things for Malta was that the countries mostly affected by airline restrictions happened to be the islands’ largest markets, including the UK, Germany and Italy. Bookings for May came to a standstill as soon as news about the volcano in Iceland broke out because many did not know how long it would take for the situation to improve. De Marco pointed out that, while travel to Malta from countries that contributed most to the tourism industry were almost completely stopped, travel back to those countries was still a possibility. "Many were travelling to Rome and going home by train to, say, France or Germany, so while we gained some extra bed nights from tourists who were stranded here, this was not enough to offset the problem. For argument's sake, if we lost 80,000 bed nights, we only gained 20,000." He said this was a big pity because Malta's tourism was beginning to recover, with a 13 per cent increase in passenger movements over last year. It was not clear what sort of long-term effects the ash crisis would have. "It's still too early to quantify the actual damage but the loss is significant. We just have to work harder”, he said. Asked whether he thought the government should give financial assistance to airlines forced to offer compensation to their clients, De Marco said he did not like making rash decisions. "We haven't entered into this discussion yet. There's an issue of interpretation of passenger rights and airline obligations. We cannot forget that this was an 'act of God' and if there's an issue of helping the tourism industry, hoteliers also suffered." He said that if any discussion were to take place, it would happen at a higher level, such as at the EU council of ministers. "But first we need to take stock. Today is the first day that there are full flights. Let's see if there are going to be ripple effects”. The opposition spokesman for tourism, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca urged the government to hold talks with Air Malta and the tourism industry to help the recovery process. Coleiro Preca praised Air Malta for its efforts to help stranded passengers, but said the crisis had come at a bad time for tourism, which was still reeling from months of financial losses because of the international financial crisis and the increase in oil prices. She said other countries were already considering compensation to the tourism industry. Air Malta to launch aggressive marketing campaign Luqa, 22/04/10 - Following the lifting of airspace restrictions over Europe, all Air Malta flights are operating according to their normal schedule. Since 15 April, Air Malta has been operating a restricted flight programme due to the cloud of volcanic ash over northern Europe. More than 200 KM flights from Malpensa northwards had to be cancelled due to these restrictions. To minimise the inconveniences to its passengers over the last few days Air Malta has operated more than 60 reliefs flights to Rome, Graz, Marseilles, Zurich, Toulouse and London Gatwick. During the crisis Air Malta honoured all tickets issued by the airline as well as those issued by code-shared partners, and offered its passengers free re-booking on any KM-operated scheduled flight or a full refund of tickets. The airline will be giving passengers who were booked to fly until 25 April the opportunity to rebook their flight at no charge and travel by 2 May 2010. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) the Icelandic volcano crisis cost airlines more than $1.7 billion in lost revenue through Tuesday - six days after the initial eruption. For a three-day period – from 17 to 19 April - when disruptions were greatest, lost revenues reached $400 million a day. “At the worst, the crisis impacted 29 per cent of global aviation and affected 1.2 million passengers a day. The scale of the crisis eclipsed 9/11 when US airspace was closed for three days”, says Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s director general and CEO. As its commitment to the industry, Air Malta has made alternative arrangements for cargo stuck in Frankfurt by trucking it to other airports currently serviced by Air Malta. In fact Air Malta made use of all available flights - from. Rome, Marseille, and Toulouse. The preliminary estimate of the financial impact on Air Malta runs into hundreds of thousands euros in lost revenue each day of the crisis. This crisis can also have an impact of future bookings which were picking up for summer. Due to the unprecedented natural phenomena witnessed over the past days which have had major financial repercussions on the airline industry, airline associations including IATA and the Association of European airlines (AEA) are undertaking discussions with the various authorities involved with a view to providing guidance to airlines as to how to deal with passenger care related issues in the current circumstances. The passenger backlog could take days to clear and over the last few days Air Malta has beefed up its resources at customer contact points. Air Malta’s MIA sales offices had a full complement of frontline staff that had the backing of additional staff from head office. The call centre was also beefed up with additional staff and extended its services till midnight and opened at 05:00 in the morning, working seven days a week. Following the crisis Air Malta has started working on aggressive marketing plans in all markets to stimulate once again the demand it was registering over the last months. Air Malta is still monitoring the situation closely and will advise its passengers of any changes in its flight operations as a result of any airspace restrictions on www.airmalta.com. Air Malta adds 30 extra flights as airlines cancel 434 flights Valletta, 19/04/10 - Since last Thursday, when the volcanic ash cloud forced the closure of most European airports, 434 flights to and from Malta have been cancelled, whilst 183 flights were able to operate. This number includes 30 extra flights operated by Air Malta, reports a joint committee made up of representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Parliamentary Secretariat for Tourism, Environment and Culture, the Malta Tourism Authority, Air Malta, Malta International Airport, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) and the Federated Association of Travel and Tourism Agents (FATTA), met earlier today to discuss the current situation effecting air travel to Europe. Air Malta is continuing to add extra flights to those airports that are operational. It is offering all its ticketed clients a change of ticket to any airport that is operational without any extra charges. This facility is also available for ticket holders of airlines that are code-shared with Air Malta and can be done through Air Malta’s call centre (dial 21662211) or at the airport. The MHRA, meantime, “strongly urge its members to exercise flexibility with stranded guests by maintaining contracted rates”, and recommends that in the prevailing circumstances hotels should not to charge cancellation fees to clients that fail to show up due to the current situation. Maltese passengers who are currently overseas should contact the nearest Maltese embassy for assistance and to obtain information of extra flights being operated by Air Malta and on ways and means how to reach these destinations. Contact details of embassies can be found on the foreign ministry’s website at www.foreign.gov.mt. Malta International Airport is in constant contact with other European airports and, in the meantime, has put in place queuing arrangements and internet facilities to assist those passengers wishing to rebook their flights at the airport. Conference expected to cause bed shortage Valletta, 13/04/10 – Upscale hotels expect to issue stop-sale notices at the end of August, as they have been contracted to accommodate conference delegates instead of tourists. All but one of Malta’s five star properties, plus several in the four star category, will be accommodating the 5,000 delegates expected to attend the annual, seven-day Oriflame Gold Conference from 29 August to 4 September. This convention, by Sweden’s Oriflame Cosmetics, will be the largest ever organised in Malta and is being handled by Mellieha-based DMC On Site Malta. “This is an impressive achievement for our company and for Malta”, On Site managing director Paul Selis tells Island Travel Trader Online. Three years ago Oriflame looked at Malta as a possible venue for its conference and requested On Site to quote for the organisation of the 2009 event, “but we were too late”, says Selis, “and the conference was held in Rome. His company quoted again for this year’s event and won the bid. (Next year’s conference will be held in Lisbon.) Interestingly, on only one occasion will all delegates come together in a plenary session during their week’s stay in Malta, and that will be on the granaries in Floriana. Meantime, with the top-end hotels committed to accommodate Oriflame delegates - 5,000 visitors for seven nights generates 35,000 bed nights – means there will be a shortage of five star rooms available for the leisure market at the end of August. Not a problem, according to Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, the Environment and Culture Dr Mario de Marco. There will be enough availability in four and three star hotels. (See Austerity chic.) Steep rise in southern European hotel prices in April London, 09/04/10 - The average price for a standard double room in Europe has risen by 12 per cent this month, from March’s average of €106 per night to a new high of €115. This is the highest the European price average has been since October 2009. Increasing prices are affecting both individual cities and countrywide averages: prices have risen in 31 of the 50 cities in this month’s trivago Hotel Price Index (tHPI), as well as 19 European countries. Travellers are heading south to enjoy the warmer weather, and this has resulted in price hikes in 31 cities of the tHPI’s 50 listed cities. The most significant increase was in Rome, where prices rose 42 per cent in the past month, but this trend was also present in most European cities. Overnight accommodation costs rose 33 per cent in Prague and Venice, 32 per cent in Florence, 31 per cent in Istanbul and 24 per cent in Seville, Nice and Bruges. The remaining cities all recorded price climbs of 10 to 20 per cent. In terms of actual costs, the greatest impact can be found in Venice, where its average overnight cost of €210 effectively displaces Geneva and places Venice as the most expensive city in Europe. Geneva comes in second at €176, followed closely by Rome (€167), London and Paris (€158). The rising hotel rates are not limited to big tourist cities – they affect countries as a whole, and this is resulting in significantly higher price averages in 19 European countries. The Czech Republic is seeing the greatest inflation in hotel prices, increasing 38 per cent from an average of €71 a night last month to €100 a night in April. In Turkey, prices have risen 24 per cent (€87 to €111), while Russia is experiencing price climbs of 19 per cent (€128 to €157). Similar increases are also to be found in Portugal (17 per cent), Italy (17 per cent) and Hungary (16 per cent). In the rest of Europe, price increases vary between six and 11 per cent. Only five European countries are seeing a drop in average overnight costs from March to April. In Ireland, prices have dropped by six per cent; in Finland by four per cent; Norway and Bulgaria have both dropped by two per cent and Sweden’s hotel prices have decreased by only one per cent. In the United Kingdom, the countrywide average for overnight accommodation has risen by four per cent from March to April 2010. This represents a much smaller increase when compared to most countries in continental Europe, and is the result of wider price fluctuations in the UK’s largest cities. The www.trivago.co.uk hotel price index shows the average overnight accommodation prices for the most popular European cities on trivago. Prices for a standard double room are calculated on the basis of 160,000 daily price inquiries for overnight hotel stays generated through the trivago hotel price comparison service. trivago stores all hotel enquiries for each month and therefore gives an overview of hotel accommodation prices for the upcoming month. The tHPI reflects the hotel prices within the European online hotel market. The overnight accommodation prices of 53 online travel agents and hotel chains create the average hotel prices for cities, regions and countries within Europe. Air Malta plans record breaking loads in 2010 Luqa, 09/04/10 – There was a time when Air Malta called a press conference for just about any reason. The launch of a new timetable plus plans to break passenger records would have certainly qualified for a PC. Nowadays, a simple press release, distributed by email, is a far quicker and cheaper way to get the message across. Today’s offering from the national airline is its new timetable for the forthcoming summer - that runs from 28 March until 30 October - and includes some 200 flights a week from Malta. This summer KM will be increasing frequencies to London Gatwick (following the withdrawal of British Airways), Munich, Vienna, Dusseldorf and Paris Charles de Gaulle, whilst introducing new flights to Turin and Genoa in Italy. Speaking about the new summer schedule Dr Brock Friesen, Air Malta’s chief officer commercial says “we are sticking to our strategy to operate a schedule with convenient timings to central airports which are close to the city that they serve. We have opted for increased frequencies to the most convenient international airports, thus enabling passengers to fly when they want with the least ground transportation costs to and from airports. Our strategy to operate more flights has translated into better opportunities for short break traffic that helps the Maltese hotel industry to increase bed nights especially in shoulder months whilst also giving better connectivity to the Maltese travelling public. "In economically depressed 2009 this strategy delivered an additional 129,677 passengers and 13 per cent more travel industry sales in France on Air Malta, while the French air travel industry contracted by 16 per cent. Impressive gains were also made in Germany where the market also shrank”, explains Friesen. “We have started on a good note this year, with passenger traffic increasing by 5.2 per cent over last year. We are working hard to maintain this pace and have launched several advertising campaigns in core markets. Our goal is to exceed the record breaking passenger traffic achieved in 2008”, adds Friesen. “Our highly successful website will be enhanced in the coming weeks to attract more inbound business. To boost spring traffic, we have launched early booking initiatives with tour operators, notably in Germany”. This summer Air Malta will be operating direct, scheduled flights to Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin, Birmingham, Bologna, Brussels, Budapest, Catania, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Genoa, Hamburg, Istanbul, Leipzig, London - Gatwick, London - Heathrow, Lyon, Manchester, Marseille, Milan, Moscow Domodedovo, Moscow Sheremetyevo, Munich, Naples, Palermo, Paris – Charles De Gaulle, Paris - Orly, Prague, Reggio Calabria, Rome, Sofia, Stuttgart, Toulouse, Tripoli, Tunis, Turin, Verona, Vienna, and Zurich. Furthermore it will be operating flights out of Catania to Munich, Frankfurt and Geneva, while serving Rome and Genoa from Reggio Calabria airport. Despite the increased “fierce” competition faced by low cost airlines, Air Malta is anticipating a capacity increase of more than 120,000 seats on key markets like Italy, France, Germany and the UK. And from the end of April, KM will be increasing its seat capacity on the Italian market by around 60,000 seats. Besides the introduction of two new routes to Genoa and Turin with two flights a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays to Genoa, and Mondays and Fridays to Turin, flights to Bologna, Verona, Naples and Reggio markets will be served with additional convenient flying time. The capacity floated on the French market is increasing in the region of about 25,000 more seats on flights to Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Toulouse. The majority of this increase in seat capacity will be on flights operated to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport with an increase of two weekly flights when compared to last summer’s schedule, thus serving the Paris metropolitan area with an average of two flights a day from Malta to Paris Charles de Gaulle and Paris Orly. As a result of increases of two additional flights per week to Munich and Dusseldorf, and an increase of additional seats on its flights to Stuttgart and Berlin Tegel, a total of more than 20,000 more seats will be offered on the German market compared to last year’s summer flights. The Austrian market will have more seat capacity, with the introduction of an additional flight to Vienna, bringing the total weekly flights to six when compared to five weekly flights last summer. With the withdrawal of British Airways from Malta, KM has added another weekly flight to London Gatwick, bringing its flights to a double-daily frequency, thereby representing an additional capacity of around 15,000 seats. New intra-European flights from Catania to Frankfurt and from Reggio to Paris Orly have also been launched for summer 2010. As a snub to low cost carriers, Air Malta likes to remind the public that its passengers get “full service treatment on all its flights to main city airports… in-flight entertainment, complimentary refreshments and newspapers, eight kilos of free hand luggage, as well as a poolable 20 kilos free baggage allowance for economy class passengers and 30 kilos for Club Class passengers. Air Malta is committed to offer value for money and superior service, in both its economy as well as business class cabins”. Kempinski San Lawrenz and Westin Dragonara top awards nominations Mosta, 08/04/10 – The five star Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz has been nominated as one of Europe’s leading luxury resorts as well as one of the Mediterranean’s leading hotels, whilst the Westin Dragonara Resort should be proud of itself for being nominated in six categories in the 2010 edition of the World Travel Awards (WTA). More than 5,000 organisations spanning 162 countries have been nominated by industry peers for a chance to win the most coveted prize in travel and tourism. And Malta is well represented in the list of nominees. The Westin Dragonara has been nominated as one of Europe’s leading beach resorts, as one of Europe’s leading casino resorts, as one of Europe’s leading island resorts, as one of Europe’s leading family resorts, as one of Europe’s leading meetings and conference resorts and as one of the Mediterranean’s leading beach resorts. Other Maltese properties nominated are the five star Fortina Spa Resort as one of Europe’s leading spa resorts; the Corinthia Palace Hotel & Spa, the Hilton Malta, the Hotel Ta’ Cenc, the InterContinental Malta, the Preluna Hotel & Spa, The Xara Palace Relais & Chateaux, The Palace and “Palazzo Capua” in Sliema – these have been shortlisted in the leading hotels in Malta category. Nominated as Malta’s leading spa resorts are the Fortina, the Kempinski, Le Méridien St Julians, the Radisson Blu Resort & Spa Golden Sands and the Riviera Resort & Spa; the latter is still billed as a Barceló property. Nominees range from destinations, tourist boards and airlines to luxury hotels, travel technology providers and adventure tour operators. Technology, meantime, is top of the agenda with a host of new categories, ranging from “leading new hotel website” to "leading dynamic packaging product". The awards programme, which serves to encourage best practice within the industry, is also honouring its commitment to sustainable tourism. A number of new green categories – spanning cruise, destinations, hotels and tour operators – aim to reward those brands striving for innovative and responsible solutions to the environmental crisis. Competition in this year's WTA will undoubtedly prove hotter than ever. Graham Cooke, founder and president the World Travel Awards, said: "We have been overwhelmed with the tremendous response to self-nominations, which have grown a phenomenal 50 per cent on 2009. "This increase, in the face of a global recession, demonstrates the vital role that World Travel Awards now plays within the travel industry. More multinational companies than ever, ranging from Etihad Airways and TAP Portugal to InterContinental Hotels, Universal Studios and Disney, are spearheading their global marketing campaigns with their award victories”, he added. This level of accountability has led to WTA becoming the "Oscars" of the global travel industry, broadcast by BBC World News and other networks to over 254 million households worldwide and attended by the industry’s key decision makers. Cooke adds: "As the tension surrounding the awards begins to mount we are looking forward to revealing the leading players at the regional ceremonies during the year, and tracking their progress as they head to London for our grand final on the eve of World Travel Market 2010”. For the complete list of nominees, go to www.worldtravelawards.com/nominees. Luqa, 07/04/10 - In March Malta International Airport saw a 12.3 per cent increase in passenger movements over the same month last year. This equates to an average increase of 8.9 points for the first quarter 2010. Total passenger movements on scheduled and non-scheduled flights in March were 206,543, an increase of 22,559 passengers over the corresponding month in 2009. Both aircraft movements and cargo and mail figures showed increases of 8.1 per cent and 22.7 per cent respectively. Passenger traffic for Malta’s main markets - the UK, Italy, Germany and Spain - rose by 5.9, 30.5, 9 and 116.2 per cent respectively. The busiest day in March was the 30th with 11,422 passengers and 97 aircraft movements. Two women arrested for trying to smuggle corpse on to aircraft Mosta, 06/04/10 - Two women have been arrested at Liverpool Airport after allegedly trying to smuggle a dead relative on to a passenger aircraft bound for Berlin, Airline News reports. The corpse was brought to the airport in a wheelchair. The two women, aged 44 and 66, tried to trick staff at the check-in desk that the man was just sleeping, staff became suspicious and alerted the authorities. They were arrested at the scene. It is believed that the 91-year-old German national had died a day earlier, and that his two relatives were attempting to smuggle his body back to his homeland to avoid repatriation fees, which can be as much as £3,000. The women remain in police custody and are being questioned on suspicion of failing to give notification of a death. The man’s body had been driven to the airport from a house Oldham in a taxi after the women told the driver he was asleep. Malta reintroduces border checks for Pope’s visit Valletta, 05/04/10 – Malta is reintroducing border checks at the airport and sea terminal as a safety precaution in connection with Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the islands on 17 and 18 April. The controls, which include travel within the Schengen area, will be in force from 00.01 today until midnight on 18 April. Post office to sell e-tickets to attractions Valletta, 05/04/10 - MaltaPost has signed an agreement with Explore Malta that allows them to sell e-tickets for more than 50 of the country’s most popular tourist attractions and events. Under the deal individuals will be able to visit any of the 35 MaltaPost branches and buy electronic tickets for attractions such as sightseeing bus tours and seaplane rides as well as entrance tickets to places including the Knight’s Spectacular Show, Gozo Cathedral and Palazzo Parisio and many more. Explore Malta, whose operations also include audio guides and tourism site management, run a state-of-the-art online booking service. This booking system, as well as being available internationally through the internet, is also available in many hotels locally. Thanks to the new agreement with MaltaPost, this system has now been installed in all 32 of the company’s post offices around Malta and Gozo. A spokesman for Explore Malta explained that the objective behind this strategic partnership was to allow tourists access to these sights and attractions no matter where they may be staying. “In this day and age of consumer choice, it is only right that we give visitors to our islands the flexibility to book their tours and excursions from as many different locations as possible. MaltaPost was a natural way of spreading this service across the country,” he said. To mark the signing of the agreement, Explore Malta and its partner Supreme Travel, took all the MaltaPost retail counter staff on a sightseeing bus tour around the island. They were also given an exclusive tour of Palazzo Parisio where they had afternoon tea. “Even with the best e-commerce systems, the human touch remains vital to good business. And that is why we would like the MaltaPost staff to get out there and experience for themselves many of the attractions on offer through the Explore Malta website”, the spokesman added. Corinthia launches free meetings concept Floriana, 03/04/10 - Corinthia Hotels has launched a “meet for free” business package for the meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE) market, offering completely free meeting space for groups of 10 rooms or more - booked before 31 December 2010 and valid for meetings until the end of December 2011. The offer is available for all Corinthia hotels in Budapest, Lisbon, Malta, Prague, St Petersburg and Tripoli. Besides a daily theatre-style meeting room, the well-priced meet for free delegate package also includes single accommodation with American buffet breakfast, free in-room internet, a buffet lunch with two soft drinks, and two coffee breaks. On top of this, groups of 25 paying guests receive one free standard room and one upgrade to an executive floor, while the meeting organiser is supplied with a pre-programmed mobile phone and free local calls, use of an office for private meetings and a complimentary upgrade to a special “five senses” room. “This new concept, which we successfully piloted and perfected at our Corinthia Hotel Lisbon earlier this year, provides meeting and event planners with the best value for money package possible, while optimising on quality and content", comments Glenn Carroll, senior vice president for sales and marketing for CHI Hotels & Resorts. “The initiative has been extremely well received in test and, while acknowledging that there is now a worldwide feeling of economic recovery, we feel there is still a need to support our customers in this very important sector of our business”,” adds Carroll. The “meet for free” offer is accessible at www.corinthia.com/meetforfree. Cruise liner traffic down 20% in February Valletta, 01/04/10 - In February 11,369 people, all passengers aboard five cruise liners, visited Malta - a 19.8 per cent decrease in excursionists over the corresponding month in 2009. Six of those passengers landed in Malta, according to the National Statistics Office. Passengers from EU countries accounted for 59.5 per cent of total traffic, with Germany being the main source market. Moreover, visitors from non-EU markets stood at 4,603, of which 64.5 per cent were from the United States. Total cruise liner passenger traffic for the first two months of 2010, meanwhile, totalled 20,431, a decrease of 23.7 per cent over the comparative period last year. Passengers from EU countries accounted for 64.7 per cent of total traffic, with Germany being the leading source market. Cruise passengers from EU member countries dropped by 18.2 per cent over 2009, with the largest drops from the British and Spanish markets. On the other hand, there were increases from Germany and France. Female passengers totalled 51.8 per cent of the total traffic. The majority of cruise liner passengers were aged between 60 and 79, followed by those in the 40 to 59 bracket. Together, these two categories comprised 80 per cent of total cruise passenger traffic. There were five cruise liner calls in February – two less than in 2009 - with an average of 2,274 passengers per ship. Ryanair to “reverse downward trend” Floriana, 21/03/10 – Ryanair will base a Boeing B-737 in Malta as from 18 May – precisely a year to the day after Ken O' Toole, the Irish airline’s head of route development, told a press conference Ryanair would station two aircraft in Malta if airport costs were reduced. They were not, and it did not. This time around, things are somewhat different. Ryanair has come to an agreement with the Malta Tourism Authority for it to base one aircraft here for five years and to operate six new routes from Malta. The new frequencies will be to Billund in central Denmark, Bologna, Krakow in southern Poland – hometown of John Paul II, Marseille and to Seville and Valencia in Spain. These are in addition to the existing 13, and by summer Ryanair will have linked Malta to 19 destinations dotted around Europe. According to the carrier having a base here with one aircraft “will deliver up to 800,000 passengers per annum and sustain 800 jobs in Malta on over 120 weekly flights as Ryanair invests over $70 million at Malta Airport”. Ryanair has always maintained that MIA’s charges are too high. During a press conference in May last year Ryanair commercial analyst Colin Casey claimed that Malta’s charges are an average of three times higher than other European airports’ and “this is a major constraint for low fares”. (See MIA-Ryanair charges row on the boil – again.) When the announcement that the LCC would be basing an aircraft here was made earlier this month, there was no mention of MIA and its tariffs; in fact, when questioned both Casey and the MTA’s CEO, Josef Formosa Gauci, smiled and waved the issue away. After national carrier Air Malta, Ryanair is the most important airline to Malta’s tourism industry. Last year it transported 440,000 passengers to and from the islands and “believes that this year it will reverse the downward trend in passenger arrivals. Outbound traffic down in January Valletta, 16/03/10 – An estimated 17,397 people travelled internationally in January, according to the National Statistics Office; 763 fewer than 12 months ago. The majority - 14,678 - visited EU-member states. As always, the UK and Italy were the most popular destinations among Maltese tourists. 20th edition of Island Travel Yearbook published, retail price reduced
Produced by Island Publications, Island Travel Yearbook has been in print since 1991 and is the most authoritative reference source on Malta’s travel and tourism industry. Updated annually, the 2010 edition includes detailed listings of travel agents and destination management companies; accommodation facilities on the islands; conference venues, floor plans and incentive travel facilities; tour operators and the foreign firms they represent; airlines, both schedule and charter, that service Malta; shipping and cruise lines; car, coach and cycle hire firms; English language schools; diving schools and sports facilities; boat and yacht chartering; special interest travel; 20 year statistics showing the development of the industry…and much more. This comprehensive directory ensures that Island Travel Yearbook is used on a day-to-day basis as an information source for the industry - in Malta and abroad.
Island Travel Yearbook will be available at good book shops in Malta and Gozo from 18 March, retailing at €20. “To commemorate the 20th edition of Island Travel Yearbook”, says publisher Terence Mirabelli, “we’ve reduced the retail price of the yearbook from €25 to €20”. Island Travel Yearbook is also available to download as a pdf file now at a cost of €12 (to download your copy click here.) Island Publications are also publishers of the Malta Hotels Directory (right). This annual title lists all accommodations available in the Maltese islands and is produced on behalf of the Malta Tourism Authority. The 2010 edition was published in January and is a available as a free download by clicking here. MIA issues 2009 financials and Luqa, 12/03/10 - Malta International Airport plc has issued its financial results for 2009 which show a three per cent increase in revenue and a net profit of two per cent, the latter corresponding to an increase from €8.66 million in 2008 to €8.84 million in 2009; which, given the economic scenario, is a notable result. The comprehensive income of MIA in 2009 increased from €45.11 to €46.45 million. This represents a 2.3 per cent decrease in aviation revenue, and conversely a 20 per cent increase in non-aviation revenue resulting in an overall three per cent increase. The number of passengers that passed through MIA in 2009 was 6.1 per cent less than 2008. The directors of MIA have proposed a final net dividend of €0.057 per share, which brings the total dividends for the year to €0.117 per share. Meantime, the estimated passenger growth stated in January by MIA was three per cent; the company has now announced a revised forecast of six per cent in view of the recent passenger growth and a better understanding of airline schedules for summer. New easyJet routes to be introduced by end of March Mosta, 11/03/10 – easyJet will be launching two new routes from Malta this year. On 30 March a thrice-weekly frequency linking the islands with Milan is being introduced – costing €27.99 for a one-way trip. And on 13 June a twice-weekly Liverpool flight will come online, price tagged at €28.99. EasyJet, meantime, transported 3.4 million passengers in February, up 12.3 per cent from the year-ago month. Load factor, however, declined 1.7 points to 85.3 per cent. Egyptair to add Red Sea frequency Cairo, 08/03/10 - Egyptian tour operators attended a half-day seminar on tourism held at the Maltese embassy in Cairo today. Ambassador Giovanni Miceli welcomed the operators and then introduced the representatives of Egyptair Express and Corinthia Hotels International. He said that the aim of the seminar was to bring together the main players in the promotion of tourism, namely the travel agents, the carriers and hotels. Miceli referred to a similar meeting held last April for a group of Egyptian tour operators who paid a familiarisation visit to Malta, adding “that this meeting should enhance the good work carried out last year”. He emphasised that the embassy was always ready to provide its services to tour operators. Aaron Stivala, who represents Egyptair Express in Malta, said the number of passengers from Egypt had trebled and “this makes the 2012 objective to have a daily flight from Egypt to Malta and vice versa a reality. The fruits being reaped are thanks to the Egyptair Express team and to the co-operation provided by the embassy of Malta in Cairo”. He added that, as of this summer, Egyptair Express will also fly to Sharm al Shaikh, besides its the three weekly flights to Cairo. Meantime, Malta’s Cairo embassy issued 2,019 visas in 2008 and 2009, compared to 856 in 2006 and 2007, meaning that traffic to Malta from Egypt increased by 236 per cent. Before joining the EU, Egyptian citizens did not require a visa to enter Malta. After Malta’s accession into the EU, in May 2004 and the Schengen area at the beginning of 2008, nationals of Egypt had to submit a number of documents and sit for an interview at the embassy to obtain a visa. MIA traffic up seven points in 2010 Luqa, 08/03/10 - In February Malta International Airport (MIA) registered a 6.3 per cent increase in passenger movements over February 2009. This results in an average increase of 6.7 per cent for the first two months of 2010. The total passenger movements on scheduled and non-scheduled flights in February 2010 was of 148,497, an increase of 8,752 passengers when compared to the corresponding month in 2009. Aircraft movements registered an increase of three per cent whilst cargo and mail figures dropped by 7.2 per cent. Passenger traffic for MIA’s main markets – the UK, Italy and Spain - increased by 3.2 per cent, 16.1 per cent, and 75.6 per cent respectively, whilst Germany registered a decrease of 10.1 per cent. 'Three-fifty tax' replaces controversial bed tax Floriana, 04/03/10 - Tourism operators are set to benefit from a slew of initiatives aimed at giving the industry a much-needed boost in what they are considering to be a difficult year. The package includes the shelving of the proposed 50c bed tax, which is being replaced by a capped contribution of €3.50 per tourist per stay, irrespective of the number of nights spent on the islands or whether the tourist is staying in a hotel or other accommodation, reports The Times (of Malta). The new tax is expected to yield between €3.5 and €4 million, the same target that had been set with the proposed bed tax, that would have been charged per night. The revenue will be reinvested in the industry through a number of initiatives aimed at encouraging hotels to invest in tourism, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said. It is yet to be decided how the tax will be collected. The bed tax had originally been announced in the 2009 Budget and its introduction on 1 January this year was postponed to April. The new contribution will not be introduced before 1 June. The tax had been heavily criticised by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association but its president, George Micallef, said the one-off €3.50 contribution per tourist, based on their average length of stay, would not discriminate against hotels and other licensed operators. Announcing the initiatives, Fenech said these were aimed at investment to increase the number of tourists coming to Malta, which would, in turn, have a positive effect on hotels and restaurants and tourism industry operators. The government will be launching a scheme of between €3 to €5 million to help hotels invest in alternative energy. It would cover up to half the required investment, up to a maximum of €200,000, and the project would have to be preceded by an energy audit to identify the individual requirements of those investing in green energy. The government would also help hotels through soft loans to finance their part of this investment, Fenech said. Rather than subsidising the utility tariffs, which the hotels already said were too much for them to handle, they were being assisted to cut consumption. Fenech said the government was also extending the possibility for hotels facing difficulties to get assistance. On the energy schemes, Micallef said that, although these did not make up for the steep increase in the utility tariffs, hotels would be able to invest to reduce their consumption. Although this would not be felt immediately, it would help in the medium and long term. The Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, Mario de Marco, said another initiative was the extension of a scheme already in place to help hotels invest in expansion and refurbishment projects. He said the government was also extending the budget for joint marketing schemes through which it matched the money invested in individual marketing campaigns. Furthermore, he said, the government was investing to raise the number of air routes to Malta. A total of 16 new routes will be operating. De Marco said the new routes were expected to increase seat capacity to Malta by 7.5 per cent but he did not want to speculate on the increase in the number of tourists. Low fares airlines grow nine per cent in 2009 Brussels, 02/03/10 – The European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA) announces that last year its members carried 162.5 million passengers, representing an 8.7 per cent increase on the previous year. “These figures show clearly how ELFAA members are bucking the trend in the aviation sector when it comes to passenger numbers”, said John Hanlon, secretary-general of the ELFAA. “It also demonstrates beyond any doubt that the economic crisis need not be an excuse for airlines to go cap in hand to governments pleading for unjust cash injections.” ELFAA members – who include easyJet, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Ryanair and Vueling - also led the way in job creation, employing an additional 3,000 permanent employees in Europe last year, which equates to an increase of 12.5 per cent on 2008. “This further underscores the fact that the low fares sector is well on the way to becoming the principal player in European aviation” KM outperformed most European carriers in 2009 Luqa, 27/02/10 – Air Malta registered a relatively good performance in terms of passenger figures last year. Figures just released by the Association of European Airlines (AEA) show that in 2009 Air Malta was the fifth best performing airline in terms of passenger traffic compared to the 30 European airlines members of the association. The figures released by the AEA show that in 2009 Air Malta transported 1,541,300 passengers (-2.6 per cent) on scheduled services compared to the average -5.8 per cent registered by the airline members of the association, 3.2 per cent points better than the European average. Commenting on these results Air Malta chief executive, Joe Cappello said: “2009 was a difficult year for the whole airline business. The economic recession in various countries around the world had its toll on airlines large and small not only on passenger figures but also on yields. A few weeks ago the International Air Transport Association reported that demand statistics for international scheduled air traffic show that 2009 suffered the largest ever post-war decline whilst in Europe, the Association of European Airlines said that its members registered a 20 million passenger drop which surpasses the previously greatest recorded annual traffic loss, of 14 million in 2002, following the 9/11 outrage. “As expected last year we registered a slight decrease in passengers over 2008. Thus, considering the international scenario, our record 2008 results, and the intense competition we have on the Malta routes, we believe that we have registered a relatively good year in terms of passenger figures”, continued Cappello. In the last six years, Air Malta’s fuel bill rose from €26 million in 2003 to €86 million for financial year 2008/2009. “It is also worth pointing out that when the price of fuel was rising, and with it the airline’s operating costs, the average fare of Air Malta’s air tickets was going down. In fact, during the last six years Air Malta’s fares went down by 13 per cent while the fuel cost went up by 330 per cent”, stated Cappello. “It is also imperative to highlight our continued commitment to Malta and its tourism industry. During these hard times it is normal for airlines to cut on capacity, however last summer we had taken the conscious decision to operate with an extra aircraft to increase seat capacity on Malta. We believe that this helped in no small way to minimise the effects that the recession was having on tourist arrivals. However unlike budget airlines that are subsidised to operate routes to Malta we had to incur ourselves the increased costs to operate with an extra aircraft”, added KM’s chief executive. “The figures released by AEA show that cumulatively last year the European airlines decreased capacity by 4.2 per cent whilst Air Malta increased capacity by 4.6 per cent floating 2.3 million seats, 432,000 more seats than in 2008. Unlike other airlines, which take decisions according to the financial returns to their foreign shareholders, we at Air Malta know that our shareholder is Malta and thus our decisions are solely based and intended to benefit the islands’ tourism requirements. Such decisions continue to reaffirm our firm belief in the Maltese market and its tourism industry”, concluded Cappello. In 2009 Air Malta’s 10 best performing routes were London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester, Munich, Catania, Rome, Paris Orly, Frankfurt, Brussels and Amsterdam. These routes contribute to almost one million passengers every year. The traffic performance of these routes was fairly stable over the last two years. Despite the harsh competition faced by Air Malta by foreign carriers operating to Malta, the statistics issued by Malta International Airport for 2009 confirm that the Maltese airline maintained a 56 per cent market share in and out of Malta. In 2009 a total of 135,000 passengers (+7.6 per cent) were transported on the airline fifth freedom traffic primarily out of Catania airport over 2008. During the year Air Malta saw a decrease of 30 per cent in charter traffic with 128,986 passengers travelling on KM’s charter services. Charter traffic was particularly hurt due to effects that low cost airlines had on tour operator traffic. Cruise liner traffic down 28 per cent in January Valletta, 19/02/10 – In January Malta hosted 9,062 cruise liner passengers, a decrease of 28 per cent over the corresponding month last year. Passengers from EU countries accounted for 71.2 per cent of the total traffic, with the main source market being Germany. There was a decrease of 81.9 per cent in Spanish passengers and another 79.3 per cent from the United Kingdom. Moreover, visitors from non-EU markets totalled 2,607 and comprised 28.8 per cent of the total traffic, according to the National Statistics Office. Passengers from the United States accounted for 61 per cent of non-EU countries, whereas passengers from Japan increased by 48.1 per cent over the corresponding month last year. On a gender basis, there were 4,565female passengers, representing half the total traffic. The largest proportion of passengers - 46.8 per cent - comprised persons aged between 60 and 79, followed by those in the 40 to 59 age bracket, who accounted for 30.9 per cent of the total. Persons aged 80 and over represented 2.3 per cent of total cruise passeneger traffic. There were only four cruise liner calls in January, each carrying an average of 2,266 passengers. MIA kicks-off 2010 with traffic increases Luqa, 12/02/10 - In January Malta International Airport registered a seven per cent increase in passenger movements over the corresponding month of 2009. The total passenger movements on scheduled and non-scheduled flights in January was 147,697, an increase of 9,721 when compared to January 2009. Both aircraft movements and cargo and mail figures registered increases of 5.2 and 1.4 points respectively. Passenger traffic for Malta’s principal markets - the UK, Italy and Spain - rose by 5.7 per cent, seven points, and 140.4 per cent respectively, whilst traffic from Germany dropped 11.3 per cent Facelift for Kempinski San Lawrenz spa San Lawrenz, 11/02/10 - After closing in early January, the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz welcomed its first guests today with a completely revamped spa. Behind closed doors, the spa and Ayurveda centre was almost entirely torn down and remodelled in just five weeks. One of the largest and most conspicuous projects was the extension of the indoor pool area, which also included a complete re-tiling around both, the indoor pool and the hydrotherapy pool.
The Kempinski’s Ayurveda centre continues to provide the benefits of an inimitable experience of authentic Ayurveda with a Mediterranean touch. The centre was redesigned as an independent unit within the spa, and now has now a separate entrance and lobby area. One important element of the Kempinski spa is the gym, which received the same face-lifting treatment as the other spa areas. More importantly, all fitness and work-out gear has been changed and replaced with state-of-the-art cardiovascular equipment. For the last three years, the luxury countryside resort has been voted Malta's leading spa resort at the World Travel Awards. While the new appearance of the Kempinski spa is the one aspect that becomes immediately obvious to the visitor, extensive maintenance works were carried out at the same time, thus ensuring consistency of the high quality reputation for which the spa has been renowned.
The site is ideal for company premises and moreover the area is in the vicinity of the arterial road network and has excellent access to public transport. The business centre will be operated and marketed by Sky Parks Development, a subsidiary company of MIA plc. The construction, which estimated to cost €16 million, will have a footprint of 3,100 square metres on nine levels of which two will be for underground parking, two for retail and food and beverage facilities and five as offices area. The total rentable area will be 14,000 square metres, excluding car parking space. MIA also announced that Vodafone Malta would be its first anchor tenant at the business centre. Vodafone Malta will be occupying 2,500 square metres of office space plus 600 square metres of terrace area on the top floor. United Travel to acquire major stake in Top Team Sliema, 08/01/10 - Top Team Incentives and United Travel have “forged a strategic alliance”. Iain Tonna, director of United Travel, says that such “strategic alliances are a natural progression in the current climate”. Both companies will be strengthened as they consolidate diverse areas of specialisation, Tonna adds. Sandra La Rosa, managing director of Top Team Incentives, says “she is excited by this development”, and adds that “sharing resources will allow me to focus on developing new products for Top Team”. Heli Tours take delivery of second chopper Luqa, 03/01/10 - Heli Tours’ brand new Robinson R44 Clipper with floats arrived in Malta and was put in immediate operation. This latest addition adds a new dimension to Helitours’ operation in aerial photography on- and off-shore as the company is already working with leading local and internationally renowned photographers in performing aerial photography, yacht photography, architectural and commercial advertising. This also enhances the already existing premier and platinum aerial tours over Malta and Gozo. |
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Situated on a 616,000 square metre tract of land in the picturesque Alcantara national park and canyon, within the popular Giardini Naxos area of Taormina, the five-star Corinthia Taormina Golf Resort will feature 130 rooms and suites and 158 fully serviced residential units on four floors, overlooking an international 18-hole golf course and club house. The hotel will be ideal for both leisure and corporate travellers and will feature two restaurants, three bars including a juice bar, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a health club and spa and six meeting rooms. The hotel will also have parking for 350 cars and is 1.5 kilometres from the popular Taormina beaches, 35 kilometres from Catania international airport and about the same distance to Messina.
The Sicilia Golf Resort-owned five star Wyndham Catania Golf Resort, with a massive footprint of more than 879,000 square metres, is in the municipality of Carlentini, between Catania and Syracuse. The hotel will have 192 rooms and suites and 224 fully serviced residential units on three floors overlooking an international 18-hole golf course. Facilities will include two restaurants, three bars, a health club and spa, sauna, whirlpool and exercise room, indoor and outdoor pools, gift shop, a golf club house and pro shop, a ballroom and two meeting rooms. It is only eight kilometres from Catania airport and 40 kilometres from Syracuse.
Mosta, 15/03/10 – Need to know who the MD of Vacations Malta is, or whether the Paradise Bay Resort has WiFi, or need to check the entrance cost at the Mdina Experience? All these questions, and more, are answered in the twentieth edition of Island Travel Yearbook (left) .
A unique photographic who’s who of Malta’s senior executives, involved in all sectors of the travel and tourism industry and relevant government agencies, is also included.
An entirely new ambience has been created by giving nearly all rooms and public areas of the spa new tiling while walls were given a finish with a Venetian plastering technique in colours ranging from olive green (left) and rust to beige. Extensive use of wood further complements the new look and feel of the Kempinski spa.
Luqa, 14/01/10 - Malta International Airport (MIA) has been granted a permit to build a business centre (left) adjacent to the terminal; it will include offices and shops, and is scheduled to be completed by the second half of 2011.