ADDRESS BY THE MINISTER FOR TOURISM, DR. MICHAEL REFALO, AT THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MALTA HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS ASSOCIATION GENERAL MEETING

President, Mr. Preca, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

My Minister, Dr. Refalo, who left for France this morning to attend the meeting of European Union and candidate states' Ministers for Tourism meeting called by the French EU Presidency, has asked me to convey his regrets that he cannot be with you this afternoon. He has asked me to thank each and every one of you personally on his behalf, for the effort and hard work which you have all put in to make as much of a success as possible out of what was forecast, and actually turned out to be, a difficult and most competitive year.

In his absence Minister Refalo has also entrusted me with the pleasant duty of delivering the short address which I am about to read to you.

"I wish to avail myself of this occasion to place on record the excellent working relationship which your Association and my Ministry have again enjoyed during the course of this year. We have worked in close harmony and engaged in a most fruitful and mutually beneficial dialogue. We have exchanged views and launched joint initiatives to the benefit of your members and of tourism in general.

MHRA's role in the Malta Tourism Authority and your representatives' most valuable and significant contribution, at Executive Board and Directorate level, has been exemplary and should serve as a guiding beacon to representatives of other organisations and associations.

You are all very much aware that this has not been an easy year. With every Mediterranean and all other competing destinations open and vying for tourists in an atmosphere of peace, hoteliers, travel agents, DMC's, tour operators, and may I add the Malta Tourism Authority had to fight, and fight hard, to capture the custom of each and every one of the million two hundred thousand plus visitors we will have had the pleasure of hosting by end 2000.

Against this backdrop I am proud to underline that all players, operators and stakeholders of Malta's largest industry have performed creditably and contributed to make 2000 as good a year as it has been.

To all intents and purposes, books for year 2000 are closed. It has been a year of contrasts. The first quarter, when the Millennium hype did not materialise, produced long faces. The second, a mixture of smiles and sighs of relief. Summer brought the sun back and you are now enjoying a relatively good autumn while bracing yourselves for the chill of winter. There will be other occasions for me to assess performance and establish where we have done better than our hopes had entertained or not as well as expected.

I therefore believe it my duty today to comment briefly upon a global phenomenon which we can ill afford to ignore. The fast changing scenario of modern day world tourism may at first impact negatively on a small country such as ours. However, if we put our minds and hearts into adapting to these different conditions there is no reason why we should not end up among the ultimate winners and achievers.

I am of course referring to the fast pace of globalisation within the travel and tourism industry. Those of you who have recently been to London's World Travel Market, who follow the march of the large German tour operators across mainland Europe and across the English Channel, are fully aware of the truly trans-national portfolio managed by today's breed of mega-operators.

This is the hard, sometimes unpalatable, but very real evidence of the unstoppable march of globalisation. Small destinations such as ours cannot alter the course of this economic phenomenon of our times. However, we can neither cocoon ourselves and pretend that it is not happening around us and much less can we afford to allow it to drag us along aimlessly and helplessly in its slipstream.

That we cannot influence the course and pace of globalisation is not a reason why we should not do our utmost to adjust and adapt ourselves and gain all possible advantage from it. There is no reason why we cannot not make of Malta a small though valuable piece on the international board in this most engrossing chess game between titans.

We must above else recognise, embrace and adjust to new realities. Those who do not are in for the shock of their lives. We can no longer expect business to come to us. Most of our traditional supply streams are no longer. We must, as we have done this year, go out and get new business aggressively and confidently.

The Malta Tourist Offices in our two major markets, the UK and Germany, have recently engaged marketing executives who are proactively engaged to find and win new business for Malta. We are looking at other source markets, in the Eastern Mediterranean and elsewhere, already serviced by Air Malta, to attract more custom and make up for probable losses following Airtours salvaging of Frosch and, as the bottom line culture spreads from Germany to wherever Teutonic and p.l.c. shareholding influence extends and constrains UK operators to winter programmes to most destinations.

Globalisation will have an impact on Malta's tourism. However, the extent of this impact will depend mostly on the degree of our preparedness, as well as on our willingness and ability to adapt, to improve, to be innovative, to be needed. There will be casualties, but being better prepared and focussed for change should lessen the toll and increase the number of achievers.

At the same time we must support the tough strategic decisions which we have taken together. We must pursue and strengthen the repositioning process which is so essential for the industry's continued and future viability and the profitability of your own businesses. Although we will meet doubters along the way, listen to Cassandras and to the sound of sabre rattling, there is neither the time nor reason for wavering, for dithering, for having second thoughts on our resolve, and much less for turning.

The battle for custom, that of being on a par or even ahead of our competitors, is neither easy nor one which hoteliers should fight on their own. They must be joined by all the industry's players and by all those who directly and indirectly, benefit and gain from tourism's success. It is therefore the country as a whole, Government and people in unison, who must endeavour and strive, albeit with our limitations but also our many strengths, to win through. 

You know, we know, everyone should be made to know, that we are on the right course and moreover that we must persevere along that course until we reach our ultimate objectives".

Minister Refalo has asked me to renew his thanks to you, to all members of staff in your respective establishments, and to wish you and your families good health and an even better 2001.