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ADDRESS BY THE HON. DR. MICHAEL REFALO, MINISTER FOR TOURISM DURING THE INAUGURATION OF THE SUNCREST SOL: "A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE IN MALTA’S TOURIST INDUSTRY" – QAWRA
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08/11/2001
08/11/2001
| Following the successful conclusion of negotiations last June between | Suncrest plc and Sol Melia, I had the pleasure and privilege to be the first to congratulate you for striking a deal which was equally advantageous for Sol Melia and Suncrest as it was good for Malta and our tourism industry. |
| Sol Suncrest, as Mr. Encinas has said, is the first | of three properties in Malta and Gozo which will fly the Sol Melia flag. It is with great satisfaction and delight that the foremost hotel and leisure chain of Spain has found Malta to be such a good investment and business proposition. It is my hope and wish that Sol Melia will be the fore runner of further substantial investment and interest from Spain and that Malta will, through Sol Melia, attract your company’s international tour operating and transport partners. |
| Already this year Malta has seen a welcome increase | in cruise liner visits from Spanish ships who find our harbour a safe port of call and I sincerely hope that through the influence and interest generated by Sol Melia’s business in Malta we will also be able to attract parallel air carrier initiatives. |
| Malta has captured the interest of some of the | leisure industry’s top brand names that now complement and partner Maltese and Gozitan entrepreneurs in their hotel investments. I see Sol Melia’s strong presence as well as that of other major global and European players as a clear, unequivocal and positive signal. |
| I see it as an overwhelming vote of confidence in the | strength, organization and potential of our tourism industry. A vote of confidence in what we have been able to achieve as well as a further vote of confidence in our future prospects and potential. |
| I say this because I know that international chains | like Sol Melia do not waste time, effort and money on lame or dead ducks. They invest and involve themselves in the scale that Sol Melia has done in Malta only if they are thoroughly convinced that, that all things being equal, they stand a better than average chance of making a good return on their outlay. |
| Therefore what this ceremony means and what Sol Melia | are telling us today is an endorsement of the potential and of the bright future prospects that lie ahead for Malta’s tourism industry. A future that will be even better when Malta joins the European Union. Sol Melia wishes to be part of our future and we are delighted to share that future with Sol Melia. |
| Suncrest plc, under Mr. Xuereb’s dynamic and able | leadership has, as we have heard this evening, scored yet another major success. I am certain that you, Mr. Xuereb, must be just as equally pleased that you have found such a strong, dependable and outstanding partner for Suncrest. |
UNCERTAIN PROSPECTS FOR WINTER TOURISM EX UK
| Yes ladies and gentlemen, this is an occasion for | celebration. It is however, also an occasion for reflection. Each year at about this time our attention is generally directed towards participating in London’s World Travel Market. Through sheer hard work and innovative promotion and publicity the Malta Tourism Authority managed to reverse the trend which had seen us lose market share over the last years. |
| In September and October a good advance booking | situation, despite cancellations following the 11th September terrorist attack, kept traffic from UK moving steadily along. |
| We are now in November, never the liveliest and most | popular of months, and look ahead towards the rest of the winter season. I see worried faces around me in Malta, as Sol Melia see worried faces around them in Spain, as I saw equally worried faces in Greece last week. But in all of those faces I also see a great sense of purpose and determination. The determination to succeed and to overcome the challenge that Mediterranean and Maltese tourism must face. |
| Ten years ago we went through the experience of the | Gulf War which had casualties on the battlefield as well as in the leisure industry. Airlines were grounded, tour operations folded, and the weaker of the UK’s companies fell. We are now witnessing a repeat. And, because through globalization some companies have grown larger and fatter, rather than leaner, today’s scenario is bleaker than the situation which we experienced before. |
| When meeting business contacts in London next week | many minds will be more on consolidation and on saving what one holds today rather than on any thought for future expansion. I believe however that Malta’s thrust at WTM should be two pronged. To retain what we hold and at the same time explore every avenue and take every opportunity so that albeit possibly even from the plight of other destinations, we will capitalize and take advantage of a situation which must sooner or later improve. |
| It will not be easy. One million Britons who normally | take a winter holiday overseas will be spending their holiday in the UK. Moreover a vast number of potential holiday makers have decided to postpone holiday plans. 25% of Britons who normally go overseas for their holidays have decided against taking a holiday overseas due to the fear of flying factor. Airlines have cut jobs and wages. As have tour operators. Our major partners in the UK have trimmed programmes and reduced capacity. |
| This is a situation which is not particular to Malta | but it is also one which in so far as tourism from the UK is concerned, places Malta at a disadvantage as the large tour operators will concentrate mainly on in areas where their exposure is greatest. That is where we will find difficulty to compete. |
| Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it will certainly not be | easy, but still I know that MTA, which will launch its new web site at WTM, will try hard, very hard, and Malta’s hoteliers and travel agents will try hard, very hard. They will not leave any stone unturned in their efforts to turn the situation round as best one can. I have every trust in our abilities, in the resilience of Malta’s tourism, and, if there is the slightest chance, we will certainly take it and make a go of it. |
| MTA has redeployed available funds and will follow a | strategy in line with the changing scenarios. Government will commit further funding, so that at the right time Malta and Gozo will be equipped to intensify publicity and international exposure to our best advantage. |
| We are also very grateful to Air Malta and | appreciative of the efforts which Chairman Louis Grech and the national carrier’s management and staff are making to keep an acceptable level of air seat capacity in Malta’s core markets and make up for foreign carriers’ defections. |
MINISTER REFALO INVITED TO SIT ON WTO CRISIS MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
| I too will have the opportunity to learn at first | hand during WTM and furthermore I will see broad overview of the post 11th September situation, as well as of the particular circumstances which impact on Mediterranean tourism. |
| I have been invited by the World Tourism Organization | to sit on a thirty five member Crisis Management Committee of Tourism Ministers, national tourism organizations, leisure sector CEOs which will hold its meeting next Sunday. Participation at that meeting will benefit Malta and the MTA officials who will accompany me and enable us to be better prepared to overcome this very daunting challenge. |
| Sol Melia and Suncrest plc are starting their joint | venture partnership in troubled times. It is when the going gets tough that the tough get going. Both Suncrest and Sol Melia have been toughened by experience and by a will to succeed. |
| Mr. Encinas, Mr. Xuereb, as I inaugurate your new | venture together, and wish you all success, I know that I convey the wishes and hopes of everybody in this room and in Malta’s leisure industry. |
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