Holidays in Malta: rumors reach the tourist island

Holidays in Malta could be off the list of destinations offered by major tour operators from next summer, according to press reports.

While nothing has been confirmed yet, it has been reported that at least one of the tour operators is seriously considering removing Malta as one of its destinations, and the fear among Maltese hotel owners and those in the holiday industry is that once one holiday company pulls the plug on the island, others will follow, relegating Malta from a conventional holiday island offered by major travel agencies to smaller specialist companies.

But First Choice Holidays, winner of the 2002, 2003 and 2004 ‘Holiday Company of the Year’ travel award and one of the UK’s best-known holiday companies, has told Malta’s independent travel guide that despite having been named in the Maltese press as the company they would most likely never have said that they were withdrawing from the Maltese holiday market, but admitted that the Maltese market was “increasingly difficult” to sell.

Malta has been struggling for some years to accommodate the modern traveler, but government figures released in March showed a year-on-year drop in tourists of almost 10 per cent, and most worrying of all, the number of tourists arriving from the UK Kingdom, Malta’s main market, fell more than 13 percent, and so did visitors from Italy, a market the Tourist Office had been trying to cultivate.

Holidays in Malta and the related tourism sector are a major source of employment in Malta, and with unemployment exceeding 8 per cent, any drop in tourist numbers could spell long-term damage to the island’s economy.

Another sector of the economy that could suffer from the Maltese holiday market is real estate.

Property prices in Malta have risen in recent years, and in 2004 Malta achieved the highest increase among EU countries, with speculators buying property in Malta in the hope that by joining the EU, properties would Malta real estate will increase in value in the short to medium term. finished.

Tribune Properties, which specializes in Maltese Real Estate, sees the potential downgrade of Maltese holidays as a double-edged sword.

Managing Director Michael Johnson says that many buyers of property in Malta do so after visiting the island on holiday and love it so much that they want to move to the island full time, while others who normally stay in hotels in Malta want to buy a property. property that they can buy for their own and their family’s holidays in Malta, and they see buying a property in Malta as an investment in the future that they too can enjoy.

With fewer people going on holiday to Malta, the number of potential buyers will also decrease.

Silver lining

As Malta’s hotels and the tourism industry in Malta eagerly await news, the withdrawal of the island’s major tour operators might not be bad news, according to the independent online guide to Malta, http://www.yourmalta.com

There has been some discontent on the island over rising property prices in Malta, and with fewer foreign buyers, the prospect of prices falling and more islanders being able to climb the property ladder could be welcome news.

In addition to lower property prices, YourMalta believes that projections of a collapse in the island’s holiday market if tour operators pull out may be exaggerated.

“While the loss of tour operators bringing tourists to the island is significant, over time the island will become less reliant on their business as more and more people make independent travel plans online and book their flights and hotels. in Malta independently of traditional holiday companies.

Malta tends to attract older tourists, so it may take longer than a place like Ibiza, for example, which attracts a younger visitor who, as a group, is more internet friendly,” says Managing Director Roger Munns, “But in time, when the Internet is considered the main source of holiday bookings across the age range, Malta will be as lucky as anywhere to attract tourists.

It has been speculated for some time that low cost airlines are going to start offering flights to Malta, and this will help Malta’s hotels and holiday market as more people consider three and four day holidays rather than the traditional week or fortnight, boosting the overall number of visitors, especially if Air Malta and low-cost airlines raise the cost of flights to Malta to levels seen on the Spanish islands.

With an ineffective promotions board, there is still high hope for the Maltese holiday market, despite not because of the Malta Tourism Authority, which is not promoting Malta in the UK in any meaningful way.”