‘Parties And Youth Tourism Are Important For Malta’s Economy Too’ – Philip Fenech
Amidst calls by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association for the country to shift from concerts and youth tourism and target older, higher-spending tourists, fellow tourism lobbyist Philip Fenech has sounded a word of wording.
“You often hear that Malta has become an Ibiza, but this isn’t the case at all.” Fenech, the deputy president of the Chamber of SMEs, told Lovin Malta. “The party and big concert segment peaks over six or so weeks in the summer and there are lots of youths in the streets, but our tourism changes all year round.”
“Although they aren’t considered five-star experiences, a concert’s contribution to the economy is extremely substantial too.”
“Malta’s tourism market is based on a mix of varied segments and that the challenge is to manage them properly to ensure one doesn’t do collateral damage on the others.”
MHRA President Tony Zahra
In an interview with Times of Malta, MHRA president Tony Zahra warned that five-star hotels are reporting lower-than-expected occupancy at the peak of summer and blamed this on Malta’s focus on hosting parties and events that tend to attract younger, lower-spending tourists.
However, Fenech counter-argued that the tourism model has merely evolved, and that five-star hotels now experience their peak during the winter months, rather than the summer.
While he agreed that five-star hotels bring high value, he said that music and youth tourism can do likewise through direct and derived demand. For example, the Glitch Festival is estimated to attract 14,000 visitors and generate some €15 million into the Maltese economy. The ongoing SummerDaze Festival, with Sam Smith as a headline act, is also expected to attract thousands of visitors.
Fenech said that Malta’s hospitality industry has now reached a point where investment must be more carefully planned to address gaps on the market.
“Over the past few years, our economy shot up from €7 billion to €14 billion, which brought about strong business and consumer confidence and many businesses expanded like there was no tomorrow,” he said.
“When we were in a period of exponential growth, the number of available beds dictated how many tourists could come to Malta and any new investment would attract new visitors and business.”
“However, our economy was overheating and we’re now reaching a point of realisation that this cannot go on forever.”
He said that businesses must now face “real competition”, where only the best will survive, and those who offer ‘copycat’ models might suffer.
Therefore, he said investment must be more carefully calibrated to cater for gaps in the market, such as entertainment for over-40s.
Meanwhile, he said the public and private sector must focus on improving their “tourism support services” – such as the electricity, drainage and water systems, improving beach upkeep, bulking up the national police and hospital resources, and centralising delivery systems in touristic hotspots.
“We’re at the stage where we need to manage our supply, see how the market will correct itself, and consolidate all this fragmentation of investments.”
“However, it’s certainly not the time for one particular lobby group or one particular business to assume the entire economy revolves around them and that only their segment should trade. The island has too many investments and we’re varied our offering so much that everyone needs to survive. Let’s slowly carry on upgrading our product and slowly eliminate the lower part of the market naturally, as is already happening.”
Photo left: The Glitch Festival (photo: Glitch), Photo right: Philip Fenech
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