Tourism: Building a future in time of crisis. A business breakfast organised by The Malta Business Weekly

Dr Mario de Marco addresses business breakfast

Speaking during a business breakfast focusing on the tourism industry, tourism parliamentary secretary Dr Mario de Marco referred to various aspects of the industry and said that Malta should not just focus on the usual tourism areas but also on the rural aspect and on village cores.

He pointed out that Qawra and Buġibba, could be targeted as agro tourism areas due to their location, and that modernisation and diversification of product are necessary. He informed the press and public present that permits for the embellishment of the St Paul’s Bay promenade had just been given.

Dr de Marco said that rubbish collection in Paceville, has to be centralised to avoid the chaotic situation that has been created due to different collection times and shared responsibility. The local Council and the commercial outlets need to co-ordinate to fix the situation. He called on the outlets and the GRTU to co-operate when the time comes to introduce a new system.

When discussing tourist arrivals the parliamentary secretary said that the 15 percent drop in tourism last winter matched the drop in seat capacity. Seat capacity for summer has been improved. The Secretariat for Tourism was also having talks with airlines for new routes to be introduced in winter and seat capacity for that period should thus also improve.

Dr de Marco reminded that the ebbs and flows created by the economy are normal and despite things not being as good as one would wish due to the international recession, Malta was still able to boast that 2008 was a record year in terms of arrivals.

He referred to the need to continue to improve Malta’s product offer and stressed that the €120 million being given by the EU for product improvement had to be used wisely and on time to ensure that Malta continues to be competitive in the tourism stakes.

In reply to the requests for the removal of the five percent value added tax on restaurants, Dr de Marco said this would cost the government €30 million. Was this the right time to do it? He highlighted that when the levy on alcohol was removed, most restaurants did not pass this decrease to the consumer.

Sources: www.timesofmalta.com