CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE HON. MICHAEL REFALO, MINISTER FOR TOURISM, AT THE HOSPITALITY ASSURED SEMINAR AT THE MEDITERRANEAN CONFERENCE CENTRE

CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE HON. MICHAEL REFALO, MINISTER FOR TOURISM, AT THE HOSPITALITY ASSURED SEMINAR AT THE MEDITERRANEAN CONFERENCE CENTRE

It is indeed a pity that due to parliamentary and other commitments I have not been able to attend much of this Seminar to listen to your speakers and discussions on a subject which I consider pivotal to the leisure industry's development and continued success.

I wish to commend the Malta Tourism Authority and MHCIMA for an initiative which is certainly crucial to an industry which is so dependent on the service which the industry's players must provide to their fellow men and women independently whether they are Maltese or visitors.

Perhaps this is also the appropriate time to expand on the concept of who the industry's players are. The smallness of Malta's land area, our population density and the fact that our visitors live among us, not in separate far away resorts, make Malta and Gozo very different from other competing tourist destinations.

Visitors to Malta live in the same towns and villages as we do, avail themselves of the same means of transport, retail and service outlets that we do, and enjoy themselves by going to the same venues that we do. They live with us and among us. This in itself makes all Maltese vital and important players. Each and every one of us, our actions and omissions, may be as positively determining and equally so, negatively damaging to the very lifeblood of our economy.

In essence all that is needed is investment in more thought and the shedding of much egoism. By nature and reputation we Maltese are a hospitable race. We get along well with visitors and some of us go to great lengths to help tourists. However, as always there are exceptions. It is they who make the headlines. Good things are taken for granted while the bad things make news.

Hospitality Assured will find a most fertile field in Malta. Even the most perfect organisation endowed with exceptional staff will find exceptions among them. But however close to perfection they may be staff development programmes and in-house training must always be an integral aspect of good management.

There is no end to one's endeavour to ensure a more caring, friendly and hospitable approach, a less off hand attitude by staff to client. However as one leaves the inner circle of tourism's immediate family and moves into other areas where staff similarly come into regular contact with visitors and Maltese alike, there is much room for improvement.

Come to think of it how much does it cost a shop assistant to greet a customer with a smile and "good morning" or "good afternoon"? A taxi driver to wish his passenger "a good day "? A museum guide to show some enthusiasm? A policeman, a customs official at the airport to wish new arrivals well with a smile and an "enjoy your holiday"?

Earlier this year, to drum the message into everyone's mind that all Maltese and Gozitans have an important role to play in tourism, the Malta Tourism Authority broke new ground and launched a very forceful awareness campaign. For the last six months Malta's TV media has carried MTA's spots and broadcast at no charge tourism's do's and do not's. In point of fact they are do's and do not's independently of whether tourists come to Malta or otherwise, and whether the industry is crucial to our continued economic progress.

Hospitality Assured is more than this. It is a whole process which leads to accreditation. It is the leisure industry's own ISO 9000; applicable to accommodation and catering establishments, food and service chains as it is to other important areas of the leisure industry.

Car hire firms, taxi and tourist coach organisations, and, in the field of maritime transport, organisations such as Gozo Channel and pleasure boat companies come quickly to mind. But these are not the only organisations and service providers where some improvement and sometimes also a thorough change of culture and approach are necessary. Timeshare sales operations fall squarely within this latter category.

Now that Hospitality Assured is in Malta it is my hope that Malta's tourism organisations will avail themselves of its services for their own benefit and for the benefit of the industry as a whole.

20.06.2000