Prison listed as Paola attraction: holiday favourite amongst international travellers

Mosta, 24/05/11 – It would seem that Malta’s tourism industry has been missing out on the ‘next big thing’, in this case Paola.

According to online travel agent and tour operator Go2hix.com Paola and its environs offers everything the discerning traveller looks for. From luxurious hotels to fabulous restaurants and amazing sites, here’s an example: “Malta’s correctional facilities and magnificent burial grounds, the Adolorata cemetery also adds to the attraction list of all-inclusive Paola holidays”.

The all-inclusive stays offered by the ‘correctional facilities’ may not be to everyone’s taste, although their rack rates are very competitive.

Paola’s climate is pleasant “boasting of a moderately warm weather that captures a major proportion of the year, summer season witnesses a high rise in tourists on Paola holidays….However, the best time for relaxing and fun-filled Paola holidays is in the spring months from April through June as the countryside blossoms in spring and by late April temperatures rise above 20C".

Travellers are warned to stay away in winter: “…Avoid the months from November to March for Paola holidays, as the place often witnesses heavy rainfall”.

If Paola is too wet in winter, Go2hix recommends Floriana, a few kilomtres away, as an all-year destination. “Boasting of a moderately warm weather that captures a major proportion of the year, Floriana receives scarce rainfall, averaging just 568mm a year”.

Paola, explains Go2hix, is “quintessentially archaic in nature…hailing an ancient inhabitancy for over 4,500 years. Situated about 5kms away from Valletta, Paola holidays offer a chance to experience amazing panoramas and sweeping vistas. The naturally tranquil environs and the queer historical legacy of the place have made Paola package holidays a favourite holiday package amongst international travellers in recent times.

“Replete with natural beauty, Paola was founded by the Grandmaster Antoine de Paule and is coming up as a major tourist destination of Malta. Though boasting of all modern touristic conveniences, Paola’s ‘new town’ sewn into the north edge of Tarxien hails an existence since the 17th century.

"Discerned as Casal Nouva when it was discovered in 1626, Paola was designed ideally as a holiday destination. With the higher ground above the harbour, Paola was specifically designed in a fashion to inundate the land with the cool breezes coming from the turquoise sea waters.

The company, naturally, also offers holidays to Malta’s capital. “Along with a fascinating past, holidays to Valletta boast of a legendary nightlife. Besides, with an intriguing underwater garden of rocky reefs, grottos, shipwrecks, Valletta has been voted as one of the best scuba diving spots in the world”.

Go2hix also sells Sliema holidays and, internationally, vacations to Bulgaria. To book, go to www.go2hix.com.

Corinthia Hotel London opens

London, 09/05/11 – The Corinthia Hotel London (left) opened its doors today. Corinthia’s new flagship is a landmark property and joins the ranks of London’s finest five star luxury hotels.

Combining traditional grandeur with modern freshness, the redesigned Victorian destination is ideally located in the heart of London, a short walk from many of the city’s major attractions.

“The project marks the culmination of an exciting journey”, says general manager Matthew Dixon. 

“Corinthia Hotel London is an intricately restored grand hotel with a 21st century approach.  Its modern elegance is defined by a blend of classic Victorian architecture with outstanding craftsmanship and contemporary art, mirroring the energy, style and history of the area. Guests are offered all the modern luxuries whilst enjoying an authentic experience in a hotel and location with heritage.”

MIA pays out €8.8mn in dividends

Luqa, 05/05/11 - The 19th annual general meeting of Malta International Airport plc was held earlier today, during which a net dividend of €0.065 per share - which represents a total payment of €8,794,500 – was approved for financial 2010.

Welcoming shareholders, MIA chairman Andreas Schadenhofer said that from a financial perspective, the company’s performance last year was indeed a record one, thanks to higher passenger numbers as well as to the efforts to control expenditure.

“The revenue of the company increased by 10.5 per cent over 2009, and one must mention that 2009 was a year in which we had registered profits, notwithstanding the recession which hit the international travel industry, and which had negatively affected our passenger numbers”, he added.

Schadenhofer said that from an operational perspective, although one can always find areas for improvement, Malta International Airport should be proud of the service levels and commitment achieved in recent years.

In his review, chief executive officer Julian Jaeger mentioned MIA’s considerable contribution to the Maltese economy, and referred to the issue of privatisation. He insisted that this process has led to “€160 million to state funds through the sale of shares, a total of €52 million invested in capital projects since privatisation in 2002, enhancing the amenities and infrastructure at MIA; up to €8 million per year in taxes and dividends paid to government; and up to €1.5 million per year to the marketing fund of the Malta Tourism Authority.”

Jaeger also mentioned various media reports on MIA’s airport charges, adding that these have remained unchanged for the past five years. “MIA does not have the most expensive charges in Europe, and is definitively within the European average in so far as its airport charges are concerned. Obviously there are cheaper airports, but circumstances are different, for example all Spanish airports are state-owned and as a group, have recorded a loss of over 600 million euro in the last two years – a loss financed by taxpayers.”

The CEO took the opportunity to mention the current restructuring process underway within the national airline, and he stated that the company is following this process very closely as it is aware of the crucial role the national airline plays for its own operations as well as for the national economy.

He asserted that “MIA is confident that this process will be positive and MIA is willing to support it in an objective, transparent and non-discriminatory way; and to this effect, discussions are already underway with Air Malta management.”.

In his presentation, Jaeger highlighted the financial results of the company as well as the major achievements in the airport segment as well as the retail and property segment.

When discussing the financial results, he said that whilst achieving major controls on the company’s cost-base, in 2010 the utilities bill went up by 59 per cent over 2009, and this had impacted the overall cost-control initiatives by the company. He also referred to the early retirement scheme initiated in the last quarter of the year at a cost of €640,000, which will enable the company to continue in becoming a leaner organisation.

Regarding traffic results in 2010, Jaeger reviewed the increase of 12.8 per cent in passenger movements when compared to 2009, with total number of passengers reaching the record figure of 3.29 million.

When touching on the retail and property segment, the CEO stated that this segment achieved a growth of 10.6 per cent in 2010 over 2009, on top of a 22.9 per cent over 2008. “These results vindicate the company’s diversification strategy which is now further enhanced with the SkyParks Business Centre - the €16 million development which kicked off in 2010, and which should be inaugurated by the end of the year.

April passenger movements at MIA hit 300,000 mark

Luqa, 04/05/11 - Passenger movements at Malta International Airport grew by 25.3 per cent in April reaching 300,123 - the highest number ever registered in April and the first time that the figure in this month hit the 300,000 mark.

This was brought about by a record seat capacity for the month, which exceeded 400,000, an increase of 13.3 per cent over April 2010. The elevated increase this month needs to take into consideration the fact that last April’s figures were affected by the volcanic ash disruption.

The average seat load factor was also on the increase when compared to April 2010, reaching 73 per cent - an increase of seven percentage points, whilst aircraft movements for the month grew by 10.2 per cent over the corresponding period last year. Likewise the Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) was 5.3 per cent higher than the corresponding period, whilst cargo and mail was 4.6 per cent higher than that recorded during the same month in 2010.

The German, French, UK and Spanish markets grew remarkably in April, by 45.3 points, 34.5, 31.7 and 25.8 per cent respectively, whereas the Italian market suffered a negligible decrease of 0.4 per cent.

Between January and April, passenger movements increased by 19.2 per cent, with aircraft movements registering an increase by 13.1 per cent over the same first four months of 2010.

The seat capacity increased by 15.5 per cent and the average seat load factor rose by 2.1 points over the first four months of 2010. In the same period, the MTOW increased by 10.8 per cent whereas cargo and mail decreased slightly by 4.2 per cent over the same period of 2010.

Prices plunge in eastern Med

Mosta, 16/04/11 - new research from Britain’s Post Office Travel Money reveals that prices have plunged in Greece and Turkey. As a result, British holidaymakers can expect their pound to stretch at least 10 per cent further than a year ago in the two eastern Mediterranean favourites. Despite this, Spain, the UK’s favourite destination, is lowest-priced in the 2011 Holiday Costs Barometer. Malta stands in 18th spot on the barometer.

With prices pegged at 2010 levels and 36 per cent lower than in 2007 when Post Office Travel Money first created the Holiday Costs Barometer, Spain rated best value for wallet-watchers. A basket of 10 items, including a meal out for two, drinks and sun cream, now costs £42.15. This is 15 per cent less than 2010’s top destination, Portugal, which has been pushed from first to third place by Spain and Bulgaria. That same basket, meanwhile, costs £63.04 in Malta in 2011.

The best news for people planning trips to Europe this summer is the fall in prices in Greece, a traditional favourite for UK tourists. After a disappointing 2010, Greece has followed the cost-cutting example set by Spain and Portugal a year ago. Bars and restaurants on the top island resort of Corfu have slashed prices by 10 per cent, helping Greece edge closer to the top three value destinations.

At £58.87 for the barometer basket, Greece was 15 per cent cheaper than rival Turkey. However, prices fell further in Turkey (13 per cent) than in any of the 14 destinations surveyed. The most significant factor was a 23 per cent price-cut for an evening meal for two in top Turkish resort, Marmaris. A stronger UK pound, up 3.1 per cent year-on-year, against the Turkish lira helped compound this benefit.

Elsewhere in Europe, sterling buys around the same amount of holiday cash as it did a year ago. However, UK tourists will find that their pounds stretch further in the USA (+6.3 per cent) as well as in the mid-haul holiday destinations of Dubai (+7.3 per cent) and Egypt (+13.7 per cent).

Sarah Munro, Post Office Head of Travel Money, said: “This year’s barometer shows that prices are pretty competitive in the top European holiday destinations even though sterling remains unpredictable. While Spain is undoubtedly best value overall, the healthy price fall in Greece means that this traditional favourite can once again be considered a good bet for wallet-watching holidaymakers.

“In fact, the eastern Med looks a good choice all ways round as prices have fallen significantly in Turkey after 2010’s sharp rises. A combination of the weaker Turkish lira and lower charges by Turkish restaurants and bars have brought prices back to the levels UK holidaymakers came to expect during the noughties.

“However, wide cost variations remain between destinations, which means that tourists need to do their homework before booking. They should also avoid buying currency at the airport where they will get a poor rate and use a credit”.

Costa inaugurates Malta-to-Malta cruises, Orange gains Istanbul exclusivity

Valletta, 15/04/11 – The Costa Concordia (left) will be making 32 calls at Grand Harbour between today and 18 November. Put another way, Malta residents have 32 opportunities to buy a seven-day cruise around the western Mediterranean on this 3,780 passenger liner for as little as €499.

The Concordia, meantime, is expected to bring to Malta more than100,000 passengers this year.

Valletta-based Orange Cruises Ltd (formerly Cruises International) is exclusive agents for Costa Cruises in Malta and won the 2010 regional award for top selling agents for Costa. The region comprises 52 countries, including the UK, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. The award was presented by Costa president Giovanni Onorato to Orange’s general manager Michael Abele.

Orange Cruises is a 50/50 joint venture between Mondial Investments and the SMS Group.

In addition to its long-standing co-operation with Costa in Malta, Orange has a working relationship with the cruise line through its overseas subsidiaries in Turkey, Cyprus, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

Apart from selling Costa, the SMS Group (an associate company of Orange) is also Costa’s port agents as well as shore excursion agents in Valletta.

Orange Cruises of Turkey has been awarded an exclusive contract by Costa whereby it is the only company permitted to sell eastern Mediterranean cruises departing from Istanbul this summer  – a singular achievement by a Maltese-owned company in Turkey.

Meantime, Costa will be operating new east and west Mediterranean itineraries out of Valletta in 2012. The Italian cruise company will be offering spring and autumn 10/11 day cruises to Turkey and Greece on board the Costa Magica as well as a totally new itinerary to the western Mediterranean on Costa Allegra in the summer – this will include unusual stops to Menorca, Capri and Monaco as well as more traditional ports of call. Prices for both programmes are expected “to be extremely competitive”.

First Choice goes all-inclusive

Mosta, 08/04/11 - From summer 2012, all First Choice products will be all-inclusive with flights, transfers, accommodation, three meals a day and unlimited local drinks as standard. Reports the Travel and Hospitality Industry Digest.

The operator said the move is in “direct response to the needs of today’s consumers who want more control over their holiday spend, and the growing demand for all-inclusive holidays”.

In the five years between 2004 and 2009, the all-inclusive holiday market grew by 32 per cent and is expected to account for 65 per cent of all First Choice sales this year.

Johan Lundgren, managing director of TUI UK and Ireland, said: “This is a major milestone for the UK travel industry and an exciting and timely transformation for the First Choice brand.

“All-inclusive is becoming the holiday of choice for many British consumers, offering them great value for money, yet there is no mainstream holiday company currently offering a completely all-inclusive portfolio.

“We believe that this move will play a vital role in differentiating First Choice from Thomson and our competitors.

“With strong, distinctive brands and clearly differentiated product we will move further away from customers choosing tour operators based on cost alone, which is unsustainable.

“First Choice will become the home of All Inclusive, offering the best of both worlds – a unique feeling of indulgence combined with practical control over their holiday spending – whatever your budget.

“Well-earned breaks will be even more enjoyable because people can leave their wallets at home and relax: they won’t have to worry about spending money when they’re abroad”.

Research conducted on behalf of First Choice shows two-thirds of Britons on non-all-inclusive holidays tend to overspend, a quarter of them by over 20 per cent and that two-thirds would relax more if they were on an all-inclusive.

Fuel increases cost hotels €2.5mn

San Gwann, 01/04/11 - The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) is concerned about a further increase in fuel as announced yesterday, and in particular to the increase of thin fuel oil which is extensively used by the hotel industry.

The cumulative increase of thin fuel oil over the past 13 months exceeds 50 per cent, and this is putting a heavy burden on the industry.

The MHRA calculates that the increase in the cost of thin fuel oil alone, in the past months, has cost the hotel industry around €2,450,000 million, which averages at €18,550 per hotel per year. This increase does not include the consumption of diesel and petrol, which if added will push up the cost of increases on fuel to around €20,000 per hotel over the past year.

Thin fuel oil is extensively used by hotels for heating purposes during the winter months when the industry generally operates at a loss and consequently this, in addition to the very high utility rates, will probably push more hotels to consider closing during the winter period, as further losses will become unsustainable.

The MHRA feels that if this had to happen this would have a detrimental effect on the tourism industry at large and indeed on the economy.

Boom forecast for cruise industry

Mosta, 28/3/11 - The financial crisis has proven to have a real silver lining for the cruise industry and now people are embarking ships at a greater rate than before. This has led to great optimism amongst the leading companies of the cruise ship industry, reports Tourism-Review.com.

Despite just beginning to recover from the global financial crisis, suffering from rising fuel prices and growing environmental regulations, the cruise industry is looking upwards and there is a sense of further optimism amongst leading companies in this particular area of tourism.

The number of people cruising this year is set to jump by 6.6 per cent compared to last year, meaning that 16 million people should board ocean liners in 2011. Three quarters of these people will probably come from North America.

As the cruise industry tried to cope with the global crisis, it was forced to lower its prices, thus allowing customers, who would not normally cruise, to book such holidays. The great memories gained from the rare opportunity meant that people wanted to return to the decks and cabins, and are doing so now. The crisis window was an opportunity to show less wealthy people what they had been missing.

Similarly, the baby boom classes represent a new opportunity for cruise companies, especially considering that many existing ships have been refurbished and many new ones have been introduced.

Cruise holidays are beginning to lose the image of being only for rich and exclusive clients or pensioners. This is a good thing for the industry as a whole.

21st edition of Island Travel Yearbook published

Mosta, 27/03/11 – 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 twentyfirst edition of Island Travel Yearbook (left).

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 2011 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 is available exclusively from Agenda bookshops at the airport, Valletta Waterfront, The Point in Sliema and Bugibba retailing at €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 2011 edition was published in January and is a available as a free download by clicking here.