Malta
A typical Mediterranean scene.
market. In the summer, legacy airline Air Malta launched seasonal operations to Damascus, Genoa, Turin, Reggio Calabria and Verona, as well as an intra-European fl ight connecting Reggio Calabria to Genoa – all of which have contributed to a sizeable increase in passenger numbers.
“Notwithstanding the economic recession and the disruptions due to the Icelandic volcano, during the period April to September 2010, Air Malta carried 4% more traffi c over the same period last year. This amounts to over 38,000 more passengers,” says Dr Brock Friesen, the airline’s chief commercial offi cer.
Hotel development
It isn’t only the airlines that are faring well, despite a turbulent 2009. Malta’s hotels and resorts, which collectively suffered a reduction in occupancy rates throughout the downturn, are now performing better – especially at the top
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end of the market. A recent report by the consultancy Deloitte reveals a 10% uplift in occupancy at the country’s fi ve-star resorts. Renewed confi dence can also be seen in the fact that hotel developments have resumed, including the upcoming 340-room extension to the four-star Seabank Hotel in Ghadira Bay, and an ambitious new fi ve-star development on the site of the redundant Hal Fehr tourist complex in the north of the main island. Although a name has not yet been decided for the resort, Island Hotels Group Holdings – the company undertaking the development – told Routes News that when it opens in 2013, the suite-only resort will be unlike anything else on Malta. “We believe the overall product on the island can and should go to the next level, and that it’s sustainable – from an environmental, fi nancial and social point of view,” says the group’s chief executive Winston Zahra. “The [Hal Ferh]
development will take the level of accommodation in Malta up to the next rung. It will incorporate 232 suites ranging from 65sqm all the way up to 300sqm, with an average size exceeding 115sqm. When you consider that the legal requirement for a fi ve-star hotel is 35sqm locally, it gives you an idea of how large these suites will be.” There are exciting times ahead for Malta, then – with both hotel operators and air services reporting a positive outlook for the coming year. Indeed, MIA has already confi rmed its fi rst new route for 2011, with easyJet’s announcement that it will launch a service between Belfast and Malta from February. The combined marketing efforts of the tourism authority and airport are clearly reaping dividends. As MTA’s chief executive Josef Formosa Gauci puts it: “We’ve worked hard to cushion the impact of the recession, and are now looking forward to attracting a record number of 1.3 million tourists to Malta.”
RN
www.routes-news.com
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