Corinthia Hotels appoint new CEO

Floriana, 21/12/06 - Corinthia Hotels International (CHI) has appointed Tony Potter as the company's new chief executive officer, based at the company's head office.

Potter brings with him a wealth of experience in the hotel industry, having occupied senior roles in global hotel companies throughout his career. Before joining CHI he was group chief executive officer of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels and an executive director of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc.

Most recently, Potter was honoured in London at the annual Christmas luncheon of the Guild of Travel and Tourism where he received the guild's and Reed Travel Exhibitions Meridian Club's "Outstanding Services to Travel" Award for 2006. The award was presented to Potter in recognition of his former role as CEO of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels.

Prior to his position with Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, Potter held the post of chief executive officer at Choice Hotels International Europe and was an executive director of Friendly Hotels. Previously, he had spent 19 years with Hilton International, were he was also a director of that company. During that time he held the positions of senior vice president Europe, senior vice president North America and Canada, and managing director of Hilton UK.

Welcoming Potter to CHI, company chairman Karmenu Vella, said: "Tony joins us at a very exciting time in CHI's development, as we embark on our new joint venture with top American hotel chain, Wyndham Hotel Group. This joint venture will provide an ideal platform for CHI's ambitious upmarket expansion into the EMEA region and will be the catalyst for CHI's aspirations of becoming a leading upscale international hotel operator. With his impressive background and vast experience in the hotel industry, Tony will be a key contributor to this new development".

CHI Ltd is a hotel operating company that is a joint venture between the Corinthia Group of Companies and Wyndham Hotel Group of the US (see 15 Corinthia hotels to be rebranded Ramada Plaza in new deal). It undertakes hotel management operations for both Corinthia Group owned or affiliated hotels as also for third party owners.

NSTS opens chill out bar

Tal-Qroqq, 21/12/06 – Valletta-based NSTS, better known as an English language school and a students’ travel agency, yesterday officially opened Rafiki’s.

Rafiki’s, which means ‘friendship’ in Swahili, is located by the university’s main entrance on Triq Punent and is geared towards the student market.

This is a café and bar, has internet facilities and a ‘self-expression chill out’ area where students can play live music, act or just simply ‘do their own thing’.

Also available is a small exhibition hall and offices and apartments for rent or sale.

Five star hotel restaurant voted 'best in Malta'

Vittoriosa, 20/12/06 - A five star hotel restaurant has been rated 'top overall' for Malta on the basis of food, service and ambience in the annual survey conducted by The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants.

More than 600 regular diners took part in the survey, voting for their favourite restaurants on the islands. As respondents eat out at least twice a week on average, this is the equivalent of more than 60,000 individual dining experiences.

The Phoenix Restaurant at Le Méridien Phoenicia in Floriana, scored highest in the food and overall categories, while the brand new Essence at the Radisson SAS Golden Sands Resort & Spa together with The Blue Elephant and Oceana scored highest for service. The Hilton's Blue Elephant scored highest for ambience, was top rated for romantic dining and - for the second consecutive year - was voted restaurant with the best toilets.

The results were revealed recently when the Francis Zammit Dimech, Minister for Tourism and Culture, presented awards at the guide's gala dinner at the Radisson SAS Golden Sands Resort & Spa in Golden Bay.

The guide lists the 150 most highly rated of Malta's 1,000-plus dining venues based on food, service and ambience, the number of satisfied customers responding, and their comments. For the 2007 edition, a record number of 69 changes have been made including 36 new restaurants entering the guide.

Commemorative plates were presented to the highest-rated among the 150 that were listed.

It-Tmun Victoria wine list was rated best overall wine list and 'the people's choice' wine list rated from the survey, the Ta'Frenc wine list was voted best for fine wine, The Arches had the best list of Maltese wines, while the Essence list was best in terms of presentation and accessibility. The wine awards were supported by Marsovin, who, with HSBC, support the guide.

The restaurants who received awards based on food, service, ambience and overall ratings were: Phoenix Restaurant, Essence, Blue Elephant, Oceana, Quadro, Gazebo, Ta' Frenc, de Mondion, It-Tmun Victoria, Maji, Fusion 4, The Terrace Restaurant, Pegasus Brasserie, Taste, Barracuda, The Kitchen, The Carriage Restaurant, Ambrosia, Hibiki, Kon Tiki, Sa Re Ga Ma, Zest, The Lord Nelson, Pembroke Suite - ITS, Bottega del Vino, Ta' Marija, The Arches, Eastern Breeze, Fra Martino, Zeri's Restaurant, Il-Frejgatina, Tigné Brasserie, Namaste, Giuseppi's, Rubino, The Playwright at the Dubliner, Tatitas, It-Tmun Xlendi, Peppino's and Can Thai.

Additional presentations were made to Ta'Marija - best Maltese food restaurant (sponsored by the Ministry for Tourism and Culture); Barracuda - best for business entertaining; Mamma Mia - rated best value for money restaurant, most children-friendly restaurant and was also voted with this year's new award for best vegetarian dishes.

The results of the restaurant survey can be found in the 2007 edition of The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants in Malta and Gozo now available in shops and online at www.restaurantsmalta.com.

Air Malta launches travel gift vouchers

Luqa, 20/12/06 -Air Malta has just launched travel gift vouchers. The new vouchers entitle holders to a discount off the price of any KM flight ticket or Flyaway Tours package.

"These vouchers can be purchased as Christmas gifts, birthday presents or for any other occasion and are valid for six months from date of issue".

Gift vouchers - available in Lm10 and Lm20 denominations from any KM sales office - must be redeemed when a booking is made. Moreover, conditions do apply.

Shopping plaza opens at Le Méridien St Julians

St Julian's, 20/12/06 - Last Thursday saw the inauguration of the shopping plaza of Le Méridien St Julians in Balluta Bay. The plaza currently consists of four outlets including a boutique, a jewellery shop, a gift shop as well as a hairdresser.

The clothing outlet, MEI, offers upscale prêt a porter and accessories. Diamonds International sells an extensive selection of fine jewellery. The Jet Setter stocks local handcrafts and books on the islands. Jigami International Hairdressing is a salon.

The five star Le Méridien St Julians soft opened at the end of February.

MTA seminar introduces circles of influence

Valletta, 20/12/06 - "If we would like to see Malta as a leading destination, we need to work collectively. Only in that way can we have more strength to become a leading tourist destination in Europe and the world". Rob Marr who was facilitating a Malta Tourism Authority training seminar titled Selling, Customer Care and Business Development said this recently.

During the seminar Marr, a sales and customer care training manager employed by Optimum Results, spoke about the "circle of influence", which - as described in a MTA press release - "can be explained that a number of factors influence our business and our personal moods, yet we can affect ourselves positively. For example, fewer tourists does not mean business is low, your behaviour sets the term of the business. In turn, being positive is contagious and the notion that 'business is bad' is only a mindset".

Training Support for Tourism SMEs, forms part of the Tourism and Support Services Training Programme, partly funded by the EU's European Social Fund. The training programme for small businesses runs until March 2007 and entails five seminars facilitated by local and foreign trainers and six one-to-one coaching sessions supported by business advisers. This programme is practical and hands-on, focusing specifically on and designed for small businesses to help them "implement high quality and effective development plans to foster growth within their respective companies". The programme is organised by the MTA in collaboration with Market Intelligence Services Company (MISCO) and Optimum Results, an Irish consultancy firm.

"This training programme is aimed at improving service across small hospitality and catering establishments and to train individuals and stakeholders who do not usually have the opportunity of attending training programmes", commented Joseph Tanti, head of human resources development at the MTA.

At the end of the programme participants will have a strategic marketing plan designed to their specific needs. The Institute of Leadership and Management will award a certificate in management to each participant who completes and presents a strategic, company-specific marketing plan of an acceptable standard. The next seminar, scheduled for February, will be on managing and developing people.

EC helps 'clean up Malta'

St Julian's, 20/12/06 - Bright and early on a recent Saturday morning a team from English language school EC gathered at their premises to 'clean up Malta'.

'Clean up Malta' is part of an international initiative to 'clean up the world'. Schools in Malta and Gozo were encouraged to join in the campaign held in early December. The initiative was coordinated by the Ministry for Resources and Infrastructure, who provided the necessary equipment.

EC's participation was organised by Nat Brewer, the school's registrar. The team donned dust masks and protective gloves and gathered an astounding amount of rubbish from the waste ground opposite a car park, including four tyres, two car batteries, shoes, a chair and 32 bags of rubbish.