September 2007
Teachers taught tourism • Starwood rewards top clients • Malta's Paris embassy moves • An answer to every parent’s prayers • MHRA partners with Polish catering school • Shannon quits Méridien St Julians • Frik takes over from Laure at InterContinental • Hilton Malta raises €22,000 for heritage projects • 'Angels' get a helping hand from the InterConti • Black belts and new rooms division managers at Westin Dragonara

Teachers taught tourism

Valletta, 27/09/07 - Tourism is one of the main pillars of the Maltese economy, which is why the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) is stepping up its efforts to increase schoolchildren's understanding of its importance and the career opportunities the industry offers.

Creating a positive level of awareness among children was one of the reasons behind the tourism in-service programme for teachers, which was recently organised by the MTA, in collaboration with the department of education, to complement the CHOICE programme in secondary schools.

"Teachers play a pivotal role in the career decisions of their students and so it is very important both for the students and for the advancement of the industry itself that teachers have a good understanding of the sector", said Joseph Tanti, head of HR development at the MTA.

Teachers from various schools attended this three-day programme. The course aims at providing teachers with a good understanding about the industry and the sectors within it; knowledge about emerging trends, which require different professional and personal skills; and presenting a clearer idea about the role that they should play in guiding students towards the tourism industry.

The varied programme incorporated a visit to a five star hotel, as well as presentations by stakeholders in the industry  including George Schembri and Hugh Peralta from the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association; Rosetta Thornhill and Adrian Mamo from the Institute of Tourism Studies and David Vella, a training professional in the industry. A series of workshops were also organised to address a number of educational issues.

The first workshop dealt with the development of a career awareness DVD and suggestions were made on how the DVD could be informative and appealing to students. The possibility of industrial placements in tourism for secondary school students was discussed in the second workshop, were the idea of an optional summer camp in tourism establishments emerged.

Tourism in the national curriculum was the topic of the third workshop and participants highlighted the importance of general basic education being supported by specific tourism education.

The MTA's industry HR development unit is responsible for the development of human resources in the tourism industry. The promotion of careers in secondary schools is one of the principal objectives of this unit.

Starwood rewards top clients

St Julian's, 24/09/07 - The Westin Dragonara Resort and Le Méridien St Julians teamed on 5 September to thank their top clients for choosing Starwood as their preferred business partner.

As a gesture to show their appreciation, each client was given a loyalty card - the Starwood Privilege Card. The card offers a range of dining and accommodation benefits at both the Westin Dragonara and Le Méridien St Julians as well as in more than 40 Starwood branded properties in Europe, Africa and Middle East.

The event took place in the newly refurbished executive lounge at the Westin Dragonara Resort.

Malta's Paris embassy moves

Paris, 24/09/07 - Malta's embassy in Paris has moved. The embassy remains on the Champs Elysées, but has been moved from 92 to number 50 and is situated on the seventh floor. The embassy telephone and fax numbers remain unchanged.

The building where the former premises were housed is undergoing major restructuring, the works, are expected to last between three and five years.

An answer to every parent’s prayers

Vittoriosa, 24/09/07 - Travelling with young children can be fun, it can also turn into a nightmare if you do not know where to take them in the event of an emergency or where to entertain them. The Definitive(ly) Good Guide company has answered every parents' prayers and published the essential reference book for parents living in or visiting Malta - the first edition of The Malta Baby and Kids Directory is now available in most bookshops and stationers at Lm3.50.

Whether it be inspiring days out with kids, late night chemists or even pet rescue, the Malta Baby and Kids Directory is the A-to-Z of everything and anything that parents and child carers will need to find for kids in the Maltese Islands.

The inspiration for the book was born during the pregnancy of Lisa Grech, editor of the Malta Baby and Kids Directory who as a first time mother found a serious lack of guidance and wished there had been a comprehensive reference book available on the brave new world of babies.

Grech said of the book: "Our preliminary research showed that parents go to the same few places and are hesitant to explore and are fearful of the unknown. Through our research we have discovered that Malta is an exciting playground for young children with a huge choice of products and services on offer. We hope that this publication will serve as a useful tool, but also as an inspiration for parents encouraging us all to be more adventurous with our children and opening up a fun, accessible and rewarding new world for both".

MHRA partners with Polish catering school

Sliema, 18/09/07 - The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) welcomed 10 students on an exchange visit - under the Leonardo da Vinci framework - from the Zespol Catering School in Tychy, Poland.

The school is vocational and specialises in preparing students for a career in the catering sector.

The first group of students are in Malta for four weeks and are being accompanied by Mariola Depta, who is one of the training managers at the catering school.

Welcoming the group was Noel Debono, committee chairman of the restaurant section at the MHRA and association chief executive George Schembri.

The students are being assigned to several restaurants for their four-week training period and will be introduced in the preparation of traditional Maltese food and service. They will also be practicing their service techniques, customer skills and the skills required in managing a catering establishment.

Shannon quits Méridien St Julians

St Julian's, 17/09/07 - Former Méridien St Julians general manager Michael Shannon has been appointed director new builds and transitions of Starwood's luxury brands based in Brussels.

Meantime, executive assistant general manager Angela Saliba is leading the team at the five star property in Balluta Bay.

Frik takes over from Laure at InterContinental

St Julian’s, 17/09/07 – Marco Frik is the new general manager at the five star InterContinental Malta. He was previously gm of the Crowne Plaza in Leeds, UK.

Frik takes over from Christophe Laure, who has moved to Hyatt Hotels and Resorts and is now based in Spain.

Hilton Malta raises €22,000 for heritage projects

St Julian's, 17/09/07 - The Hilton Malta is supporting the Malta Hotel Heritage Sponsorship Scheme together with HSBC Malta and Malta's national heritage agency, Heritage Malta, to raise funds for the preservation of the megalithic Hypogeum in Paola.

Guests staying at the Hilton are being asked for a voluntary contribution of one euro per room per night to be added to their hotel bill, which will then be deposited into an HSBC account to help fund Heritage Malta's Hypogeum conservation project. Since the scheme was launched, Hilton Malta has collected more than €26,220 from its guests.

"The Hypogeum and the Stone Age temples on Malta are grouped together by UNESCO as world heritage sites, and we feel privileged to be given the opportunity to contribute our modest share", said Clement Hassid, general manager of the Hilton Malta.

Mario Tabone, chairman of Heritage Malta, thanked Hassid for the hotel's cooperation and for having accepted to take part in the project whereby tourists contribute towards the preservation of Malta's national heritage, a project that was the brainchild of and was promoted by Shaun Wallis, CEO of HSBC Malta. Tabone stressed the importance of Malta's heritage for society in general as well as on its importance as the biggest factor that can guarantee sustainable tourism. He ended by repeating that "heritage is not only the pride and wealth of the country, but also a strong economic contributor to the future".

'Angels' get a helping hand from the InterConti

St Julian's 17/09/07 - As part of InterContinental Malta's social and environmental commitment to the community, a team of employees from the five star hotel recently lent a helping hand at Angela House in Guardamangia.

Angela House is run by the Ursuline Sisters, who take care of children aged three years and older. This residential facility currently has more than 50 children in its care and houses kids from less fortunate families.

Fifteen members of staff volunteered to paint and clean the newly built gymnasium, an extension to the home's facilities. The team spent a number of days painting and cleaning. MacPhersons Paints sponsored the paint.

"Angela House provides a safe and structured environment in which children can successfully develop. One of the most fundamental aspects of being a child is practicing sports, exercising and - most importantly - having fun and the InterContinental Malta is delighted to be able to help a little with this gym”, said Christopher Tabone, the hotel's chief engineer.

Black belts and new rooms division managers at Westin Dragonara

St Julian's, 10/09/07 - Karen Warrington has been promoted to Six Sigma black belt and Sue Ciappara was promoted to rooms division manager at the Westin Dragonara Resort.

Warrington started her career in the tourism industry in 1997 at the Westin Dragonara as a general cashier. She was promoted to groups billing and then to accounts manager. She then moved on to chief accountant for the property. In May 2007 she became Six Sigma green belt that then led her on to becoming a black belt - these have nothing to do with judo.

In 2001, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide - owners of the Westin brand - became the first hospitality company to embrace Six Sigma, In painful and meaningless Westin speak Six Sigma is described as "an approach that enables associates to develop innovative customer focused solutions and transfer those innovations rapidly across an organisation. Six Sigma at Starwood aims to increase financial performance by improving the quality and consistency of guests' experiences as well as that of internal customers. A black belt works on projects that address operational priorities and opportunities.  During the course of project work, black belts lead teams to gather voice of the customer, remove root causes and pilot solutions". Starwood employs approximately 150 black belts worldwide. Naturally, the next rung up is a master black belt.

Ciappara, meanwhile, after graduating from the Institute of Tourism Studies started work at the Westin Dragonara in 1997 as a receptionist and after two years was promoted to reception supervisor. In 2000 Ciappara moved onto the catering and conventions department. In 2003 she was promoted to front office manager that then led her to her new promotion as rooms division manager. In 2004 she was awarded the prestigious Starwood President's Award. In 2006 she was also awarded the UNICEF Ambassador Award for Europe, Africa and the Middle East division.