THE MINISTER FOR TOURISM ADDRESSES MEMBERS OF THE NEWLY CONSTITUTED BOARD OF ITS.

No. 0028 Press Releases

THE MINISTER FOR TOURISM ADDRESSES MEMBERS OF THE NEWLY CONSTITUTED BOARD OF THE ITS

The Minister for Tourism, Dr. Michael Refalo, today addressed the members of the newly constituted Board of the Institute for Tourism Studies (ITS).

After thanking the Chairman, Mr. Albert Muscat Inglott, and all the members who served on the ITS Board during 1999, the Minister introduced the five new members who have joined the Board for year 2000. The new members are, Mr. Joseph Micallef, the recently appointed Director of the Department of Tourism, Ms. Grace Borg, a business woman with experience in the leisure sector, Ms. Rachel Borg, a managing partner of an incoming/outgoing travel agency, Mrs. A. Naudi, a teacher at a TEFL school, and Mr. Joseph Dimech who brings to the Board expertise in personnel training and human relations. The Minister said that there are now five lady members on this board and urged tourism associations to consider nominating qualified lady members to association boards and committees.

Minister Michael Refalo reviewed the main policy measures which the ITS Board took during 1999 especially following the visit and audit undertaken by Dr. Jean Louis Aeschlimann. Since then international internships have been extended to one calendar year, the week work, week study system has been discontinued, the duration of lessons/practical sessions has been halved to ninety minutes, access of ITS students to University courses has been reintroduced following the restructuring of the ITS Hospitality Management and Hotel Operations courses.

The Minister said that a number of marginal courses, which seemed neither of interest to students nor apparently of use to them, had been offered in 1999/2000 and that the take-up had been disappointing. Dr. Refalo asked the Board to look again into the course content and submit recommendations about whether they should be re-introduced in 2000/2001 or otherwise discontinued.

Minister Michael Refalo said that it was his intention that ITS should initiate discussions with the University with a view to the introduction of a fully fledged degree course in tourism and urged the Board to prepare itself well for such meetings.

Furthermore the Minister said that the Board should ensure that a Director of the Institute is in post to take over the day to day running of ITS from academic year 2000/2001.

Although there had been some improvement in disciplinary standards the Minister emphasised that the Board should enforce strict norms and measures to ensure the maintenance of discipline by ITS students.

The Minister said that he looked forward to the Institute's report on the student tracer study which he had asked ITS to undertake. Now that the Malta Tourism Authority was in the process of setting up the Support Services Directorate, a Chairman designate was already in post, the Minister was of the opinion that ITS and MTA should jointly undertake a manpower survey to establish current manning levels as well as future requirements. Such a survey would also enable ITS to plan and offer courses according to the industry's needs.

Minister Michael Refalo thanked the Chairman, Mr. Muscat Inglott, and his colleagues for accepting to serve as members on the ITS Board and wished them and the Institute all success.

 11.01.2000