Around 10,700 English language students have booked stays in Malta this summer but their plans remain up in the air, with no official announcement yet on when they can reopen. 

FELTOM, the federation representing ELT schools, issued an impassioned status today, warning that these students, along with a further 2,807 who have postponed their travels, risk being lost to competing markets that have already started opening their doors to them.

This, it warned, will put the “last nails in the industry’s coffin”.

“The English language teaching industry in Malta has, for the past fourteen months, experienced financial devastation with no end in sight,” FELTOM said.

“The industry has been respectful of and compliant with government measures from the start and has been lobbying with government for financial aid for weeks to ensure that the businesses, which contribute so much to Malta’s economy, will survive,” said Rebecca Bonnici, FELTOM’s Chairperson.

With each ELT student staying in Malta for an average of three weeks, the industry provides a significant boost to the Maltese economy. In 2019 alone, the total spend of ELT students in Malta was close to €200 million.

FELTOM said it is working on the assumption that ELT schools will be allowed to reopen on 1st June, the date when Malta is set to reopen its doors to tourists. 

The markers its member schools are targeting include Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Belgium, Colombia, Chile, Japan, Russia, South Korea and Turkey.

Cover photo: FELTOM

Do you work in the ELT industry? Are you concerned about the future of the industry? Let us know in the comment section