ISSUE
05 April 2016
this issue Revamped Salini Resort aims for fifth star P2 KM launches Palermo service P3 Cruise traffic up 91% in Q1 P6 Brexit: Flying out of the window P7 Language students play truant as arrivals slip P13 Data bank P9 • A little birdie told me... P14
Environment tax already being charged by online booking services Mosta J They all made a fuss about the environment contribution. Some predicted it would be the end of Malta’s tourism industry. Others, like the federation of travel agents, were miffed because they felt they had been left out of the negotiations. R The incoming agents’ argument, made public on 11 April – 11 days after the tax was supposed to have been introduced – was that nearly half Booking.com: ‘fee’ sounds better than tax of Malta’s arrivals come on package tours, paid for in advance. Consequently, the tax would have to be absorbed by tour operators. R In its complaint FATTA says “the total lack of information on the tax until the eleventh hour is inconsiderate to the industry”. R The federation “feels the government has chosen to ignore the fact that 44% of tourists’ arrivals come on organised package holidays, which are typically priced many months in advance and that tour operators selling such packages are very often committed to honour brochure prices and absorb any additional costs that may be imposed. R “The government”, continues FATTA “became Published 27 April 2016
involved in long-winded discussions with just one stakeholder on the method of collection of the tax. R “These protracted discussions with the hotel sector resulted in an unnecessary delay in communicating Getaroom.com: ‘resort fee’ sounds even the details to better than tax the trade, even forcing the government to delay the introduction date by two months from the original plan. The details have now only been communicated to operators, effectively giving them less than eight weeks’ notice”. R Indeed, associations such as the MHRA saw the introduction of the environment tax as a means of leverage to force the government into ensuring that all accommodation providers are licensed before they would play ball. As the tax collectors, (licensed) hoteliers feel they have the upper hand. R “If someone is operating a property, they have to abide by regulations. Otherwise, the guys who are already regulated, licensed and paying the 50c environment contribution per tourist per day will run out of business. We need to have a level playing field”, insists Continued on column 1, page 2
Venere.com: the ‘destination fee’ is already mandatory
Continued from page 1 MHRA president Tony Zahra said. R The upshot is that the government not only agreed to postpone the introduction of the tax until 1 June, instead of 1 April, but also reiterated that “all accommodation providers [are] to be licensed by the Malta Tourism Authority and, in addition, [are] to provide third-party liability insurance to cover accidents, injury or bodily harm, including death” (see Island Travel Trader #1, P2. #4, P5). R The environment contribution of €0.50 per night, payable by all tourists aged 18 and over for every night spent in paying accommodations and capped at a maximum of €5 per person per visit, is expected to generate some €6mn a year and will be used to smarten up the environment. R As tourism minister Edward Zammit Lewis put it: “I have decided to introduce the environmental contribution where all revenue generated will solely and exclusively be directed toward the improvement and embellishment of the local infrastructure, while offering an improved product in general of the Maltese islands”. R Meantime, it seems that no one bothered to tell online hotel reservation services that the introduction of the environment contribution has been postponed for two months. R Since the beginning of the month the major booking services have including the tax in their prices. R These include Booking.com, who call it an environment fee; Venere, Expedia and Hotels.com refer to it as a destination fee. Getaroom.com calls it a resort fee. R All do specify the tax is not included in the overall price, and one assumes it’s payable at the hotel as of now. R When Island Travel Trader questioned the MHRA and several hotels about this, all were surprised that the tax was included. R “It’s clearly shown that it’s from 1 June”, said the DoS of a five-star property. No, it’s not! R If anything may damage the tourism industry, it’s a tax that doesn’t exist yet.
Salini Resort: unashamedly stylish hotel overlooking Salina Bay
Revamped Salini Resort exudes luxury, aims for fifth star Salina J If you walk into the lobby of the four-star Salini Resort, you’ll not recognise it as the former Coastline Hotel. R When Claret Holdings bought the property from the Island Hotels Group in 2014 for €14mn it closed it for a major renovation. R The hotel soft opened at the end of last year as the Salini Resort with 237 rooms spread over seven floors, up from the previous 207 rooms. R Two floors were added that include two penthouses with private pools, self-catering studios, executive suites and de luxe rooms. R All standard rooms have been refurbished and upgraded in elegant, muted tones that “together with a mix of textures of Maltese hardstone and rubble walls, typical of the Maltese landscape, create an ambience of elegant timelessness, calm and peace”. R All the public areas have been renovated and, in some cases, their usage changed. For instance, the former offices have been converted into 17 classrooms and a conference hall has been turned into an F&B outlet-cum-lounge for language students. R Sean Le Gault’s Claret Holdings is affiliated to the European School of English, and part of the hotel – including 100 bedrooms – has been earmarked for this purpose. And a second pool has been built for students.
R Students are ‘elegantly’ segregated to ensure minimum inconvenience of other guests. R On the food and beverage front, the Salini Resort has a cafeteria, two restaurants – one of which has been leased to Michael Diacono of Giuseppi’s fame. R Like the former Coastline, in this incarnation the hotel sports lavish meeting facilities and a new hall that can accommodate up to 1,000 people. R Moreover, the resort has a fully-equipped gym with sauna, a heated indoor pool, whirlpool, steam room, two tennis courts and an outdoor swimming pool. To complete the leisure facilities, a new Myoka-branded spa recently opened. R The revamped Salini Resort, an unashamedly stylish hotel, with its perfect location overlooking Salina Bay and the historic salt pans, is now poised for a fifth star. R The management feel confident that the hotel has reached the standard required to join the ranks of a five star. If and when this happens, the Salini Resort will be the first five-star hotel on the island’s northern coast.
February arrivals up 9% Valletta J Arrivals were up 9.7% in February, from 74,189 in 2015 to 81,386 this year, the NSO reports. Continued on column 1, page 3 2
Continued from page 2 R The majority of arrivals, 66,137, were tourists whilst 9,291 travelled to the islands on business (see Socio-demographic profile of travellers 2016 on page 10). R The largest proportion of arrivals were aged between 45 and 64, followed by those in the 25 to 44 bracket. R The total number of nights spent on the islands in February went up by 10.4% to 581,394, when compared to February 2015. Most guest nights (69.8%) were spent in hotels. R Total tourist expenditure was estimated at €57.8mn, an increase of 9.6% over the corresponding month of last year.
KM launches Palermo service Luqa J Air Malta will start scheduled, year-round, services to Palermo on 4 July. This will be the second destination KM serves in Sicily. R This frequency is in addition to the 13 weekly flights from Malta to Catania. R “This is more good news for our customers”, says Ursula Silling, Air Malta’s chief commercial officer. “We are thrilled to launch new flights to Palermo’s Falcone-Borsellino airport”. R Flights will be operated on Mondays and Thursdays. On Mondays, ETD from MIA will be at 13:15 with a planned arrival in Palermo an hour later. The return flight will take-off at 15:05 and arrive in Malta at 15:55. R The Thursday service will be operated in the evenings, with a departure time of 19:50 and an arrival time of 20:50 at Falcone-Borsellino. The return leg will be at 21:40 and
Oops! J In the March issue we carried a story about the Maritime Antonine’s upgrade. R Inadvertently we said the fourstar property will have 157 rooms; in fact, it should have read 219 rooms. R Apologies for the error.
arrive at MIA at 22:30. R Air Malta expects to carry 20,000 passengers on this route in the first year of operations. R “As part of our constant schedule improvements we have also retimed some of our Catania flights to offer better connectivity with our services to major European cities. These initiatives are expected to facilitate business opportunities between the two islands”, adds Silling.
is accompanied by a hard copy brochure, which was recently revised. R The Werbe Grand Prix, meanwhile, is an event held by Austrian travel trade magazine TAI (Tourismus Austria International). This year it considered 273 entries in six categories – hotel brochures, destination brochures, tourism brochures and posters, social media, web sites and television/radio commercials.
Hilton Malta reopens after €15mn renovation
St Julian’s J On Saturday, 16 April at noon, the Hilton Malta reopened its doors after a 10 week, €15mn, “intensive programme of refurbishment”. R The refurbishment included the overhaul of 293 rooms, new food and beverage outlets, extended executive lounge facilities, new lifts, as well as “new engineering technology to provide more energy efficient operations”. R Hotel owners Leli and Ninu Fenech, general manager Matthew Mullan, the property’s staff and first guests Tad Zurlinden and Dominic Tidey were all present for the hoisting of the Malta, EU and hotel flags.
MTA wins gold at Austria’s Werbe Grand Prix Vienna J At TAI’s Werbe Grand Prix, the Malta Tourism Authority’s Austria office placed first in audience ratings and was awarded a gold medal for its www.visitvalletta.de web portal. R Voting was held online and during the Reise Salon fair, held in mid-April. R www.visitvalletta.de provides extensive information about Valletta’s varied tourist and cultural offers and serves as a marketing tool for the promotion of the capital as a short and city break destination, as well as the European Capital of Culture 2018. R The site was developed by the MTA’s Frankfurt office in 2012 and
Air Malta: ‘young and innovative’
KM to turn Airbus into a ‘flying disco’ Luqa J on 21 July 141 people – willing to fork out from €240 a head – can fly on an Air Malta Airbus to Ibiza and be treated (or possibly, subjected) to an “exclusive experience of a ‘party in the sky’”. R The special, two-hour long flight, chartered by Events by Martin, a locally-based events promoter, will include two DJs spinning the tracks – turntables will be installed instead of the first row of seats on the starboard side of the aircraft – a custom sound system will also be fitted on board as will special lighting. R Passengers will get the “full VIP treatment and will be treated with a special inflight service”. The flight will depart at 22:50. R This shindig doesn’t come cheap. For starters, tickets are one way and start at €240 per person in economy, €300 for economy plus and €490 for a business class seat. Add another €20 for 20kgs of baggage. R On top of that there’s an escalating additional cost; buy a Y class ticket and pay €9.60 ‘booking fee’, €12 for economy plus and €19.60 is Continued on column 1, page 4 3
Continued from page 3 the booking fee if you plan to buy a business class ticket. (No ticket is refundable, this is stated twice in the T&Cs.) R “The organisation of this flight, as requested by the organisers, presented an operational challenge to the airline”, says Joseph Galea, KM’s deputy chief commercial officer. R “However, Air Malta took the challenge and together with its engineering department and flight safety office conducted various tests to ensure that all equipment can safely be transported in the cabin, and all international standards and regulations are followed. Moreover, Air Malta will be taking extra precautions to ensure cabin safety during the flight”. R “We are really excited to organise this unique flight, and offer our guests a safe, entertaining inflight experience like no other. This event fits perfectly with our aspiration to be a young and innovative travel operator”, Galea adds. R This event will be filmed and photographed and shared on the airline’s social media.
Be eco-certified St Julian’s J The be.Hotel, formerly the Bay Street Hotel, has been eco-certified by the MTA. R The four-star property has just completed a refurbishment programme (see Island Travel Trader #3, P6). R The eco-certification scheme, introduced in 2003, is based on environmental criteria set by the Malta Tourism Authority. It is awarded to tourism accommodation establishments that pass an environmental audit on an annual basis. There are 22 hotels and seven farmhouses that are eco-certified.
in South Korea’s capital at the end of March. R ST-EP is built around 115 sustainable tourism projects in Africa, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East, in close collaboration with local governments, national authorities and NGOs in the beneficiary countries. R The projects include training of local guides and hotel employees, establishing business links between poor producers and tourism enterprises, amongst others.
Winter breaks weather records Luqa J We don’t normally carry weather stories, but since this last winter was exceptional, and it did affect the tourism industry, we thought we’d break the mould. R With 99.6mm of rain, winter was almost four times drier than it was last year, becoming the driest winter on record, according to MIA’s met office. R This allowed the Maltese islands to enjoy weather traditionally experienced in spring, but it caused parched fields and a poor crop yield. R A quick look at last winter’s weather – one of the mildest in living memory – shows that rain was scarce and sea and air temperatures were higher than usual.
Malta in ST-EP Seoul J Malta is one of the 37 countries to sign the Sustainable Tourism Eliminating Poverty (ST-EP) Initiative of the United Nations’ World Tourism Organisation. R The signing ceremony was held
R The highest air temperatures registered for each month of winter were close to the maximum temperatures recorded in April and May 2015. This year’s unusually warm winter was a phenomenon that hit most of Europe, affecting animal behaviour and plants’ flowering patterns. R Locally, days were much brighter than usual with 19 February enjoying a maximum of 10.2 hours of sunshine, which is only 0.4 hours less than the mean sunshine hours recorded for August 2015. Exceptionally bright days were also experienced on 23 December and 26 January. R Although December was the wettest month of winter, the 45.8mm of rain were still significantly less than the 104.8mm norm for this time of the year. R With a mere 2.6mm of precipitation, February 2016 was both the driest month last winter, as well as the driest February on record since 1923. R Between them, January and March registered just over 51mm of precipitation and the two hail occurrences for winter. R Peaking at 23.6°C, February’s temperature became the highest for this month in 93 years. Interestingly, Alaska also experienced its warmest February in a stretch of more than 90 years. Locally, the highest temperature in winter was reached in March at 24.6°C, while it dropped to its lowest of 5.9°C in January. R The sea was also warmer than usual throughout winter, with January registering the highest ever sea-surface temperature for this month at 17.6°C. In December, raincoats could practically be traded for swimsuits as sea temperatures were in the region of 18.6°C. R Meantime, farmers are predicting an extremely wet August.
Kempinski completes refurbishment programme
Winter: the new arrivals season
San Lawrenz J The five star Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz has just reopened after the completion of a €6mn Continued on column 1, page 5 4
Continued from page 4 renovation programme. R Works included the refurbishment of rooms, including new bathrooms equipped with rain shower, new beds, upholstery and light control switches. R All rooms and suite categories have now been installed with a state-of-the-art, noiseless air conditioning system, which greatly reduces consumption and thereby minimizes the hotel’s carbon footprint.
Azure Ultra, charter luxury on the high sea Vittoriosa J Fancy a day of luxury and pampering on the high sea? You can have it for just €4,700. If that’s too pricey, there’s the more ‘competitive’ option at €1,500 on a 15m yacht appropriately named Miss Moneypenny. R And if you’re on a tight budget you could choose the brunch and bubbly experience for €750. This will buy you a half-day aboard the same Miss Moneypenny. R On the other hand, if money is no object and you have €27,500 to spare you could charter the 20m Amore Mio for a week. R All of these goodies are available from Azure Ultra. Billing itself “Malta’s premier luxury yacht charter provider, Azure Ultra prides itself on its upscale service which sets it apart in the local charter scene”. R Azure Ultra, based at Vittoriosa’s
marina, started its luxury yacht charter operation last year and launched the 2016 season in early April; it’s a member of the Azure Group, that manages two timeshare operations at the Radisson Blu Resort & Spa, Golden Sands. R Azure Ultra’s fleet is made up of three Sunseeker yachts: Miss Moneypenny, the 18.6m Don’t Ask, and the most recent addition Mio Amore – that has three guest cabins, sleeping six, plus one for the crew. R Both Amore Mio and Don’t Ask have international licenses, meaning they can be chartered for travel abroad. And all charter rates include a captain, a stewardess and insurance fees. Day charters include a light lunch with drinks and sufficient fuel for 56km. Additionally, the yachts are equipped to offer water sports. R The yachts may be chartered for a day, overnight, three nights or per week or for bespoke programmes to suit all requirements. R Like its sister company, Azure Ultra also offers fractional yacht ownership – fancy speak for timeshare. R A ‘fraction’ of a yacht is price tagged at €63,000, berthing is included in the price but you’ll have to fork out another €850 a year in running costs. R Azure Ultra’s “realistically affordable options…place the high life on board a luxury Sunseeker within easy reach of aspiring yacht owners, while guaranteeing a splendid hassle-free time at sea”.
Azure Ultra: realistically affordable luxury afloat
Malta – like flying into a Picasso painting Luqa J Malta International Airport has topped a global poll of the world’s most scenic landings. R Conducted by the private jet booking service PrivateFly, the company asked its clients for their most scenic airport approaches in its annual survey, with the most votes this year going to MIA. (The poll was carried out in February and March and more than 7,500 people voted. A total of 115 airports were nominated.)
Top 10 scenic airports 1 Malta International Airport 2 Nice Cote D’ Azur Airport 3 Queenstown Airport 4 Barra Airport 5 Juancho E Yrausquin Airport 6 Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport 7 Donegal Airport 8 Princess Juliana International Airport 9 Los Angeles International Airport 10 London City Airport
Malta France New Zealand Scotland, UK Saba, Dutch Caribbean Canada Ireland St Maarten, Dutch Caribbean US UK
R One voter says: “Landing on this gem in the Mediterranean Sea is not to be missed. The islands of Malta and Gozo fit into your window...the sea, the blue skies, the landscape, the greenery, the cities, the temples, and all the colours that this beautiful island has to offer. Beats any landing by far”. R Adam Twidell, CEO of PrivateFly, and an experienced pilot, comments: “Flying into Malta is a truly special experience – it’s a tiny island landing that packs a big punch. There is so much to take in. Without being hectic, the landscape changes from coast, to farmland, to the historic city of Valletta. It’s like flying into a Picasso painting”. R MIA’s CEO, Alan Borg, adds: “We are truly flattered by this award, and the feedback Malta International Airport received in this poll, which strengthens our Continued on column 1, page 6 5
Continued from page 5 belief that Malta enthrals visitors from their first glimpse and offers a unique experience year-round. We hope that topping PrivateFly’s poll will boost our ongoing efforts to entice guests who have not yet experienced our islands to discover our rich history, culture, hospitality, and underwater world, first hand”.
Turkish Airlines unwraps UEFA Airbus livery
Cruise traffic up 91% in Q1 Valletta J Cruise liner passenger traffic in the first three months of the year was up 90.7% over the corresponding quarter of last year. A total of 39,375 passengers visited the islands in Q1 up from 20,653 last year. R In Q1 17 cruise liners called at the Grand Harbour, eight more than last year (see Cruise ship traffic 2016 on page 13). R As expected, the majority of cruise line passengers were EU nationals – 65.9%. R The most dramatic statistic relates to Maltese nationals. In Q1 of 2015, just one Maltese went on a cruise, this time round 72 did – an increase of 7,100%. Americans were the largest number of non-European passengers R On a gender basis, females made up 53.3% of the total, whilst the biggest share of passengers were in the 60-79 age bracket.
Air Navia ‘linking’ Aalborg and Malta Aalborg J Air Navia is a new Danish company that calls itself a low cost carrier, but it does not have any aircraft. R It is understood it was trying to charter a McDonnell Douglas MD83 from Danish Air Transport, but so far it hasn’t. R The company also hopes to obtain an air operator’s certificate (AOC) within the next three years,
Istanbul J To celebrate UEFA EURO 2016 this summer, Turkish Airlines has unveiled an A330-300 painted in the competition’s livery. R In mid-April the aircraft made its maiden flight to Paris, the location of this year’s final on 10 July, and is “just one component of Turkish Airlines’ drive to excite fans ahead of this year’s tournament”. R The livery was created by UEFA and Turkish Airlines as part of the airline’s partnership with the competition and role as official airline partner of Euro 2016. The sponsorship will also see the airline announcing a series of ticket giveaway competitions; unique EURO 2016 airport “experiences” for passengers; and a series of fan zones throughout the host French cities once matches get underway on 10 June. R The Airbus wrapped in the UEFA EURO 2016 colours will fly to a selected number of destinations across TA’s network. chief commercial officer Mathias Madsen is reported to have said. R Set up last November, Air Navia is offering flights from Aalborg to Malta, Crete, Rhodes, Corfu, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Varna (Bulgaria) and Gazipasa (Turkey). R Flights to Malta, actually operated by SAS, are on Sundays from March to October and cost around €705 for the round trip. R Frederik Holmstrom, Air Navia’s marketing coordinator, tells Island Travel Trader the ‘airline’ has “taken between 20-40 seats of our own on each route”. R In ‘olden times’, operations such as these were known as airline consolidators. Today, it’s referred to as a ‘virtual airline’.
Space rental set to drive sharing economy Basingstoke J New data from UK-based Juniper Research has found that shared space providers including Airbnb and WeWork, are set to see platform revenues surpass those taken
by ride-sharing providers Uber and Lyft by 2019. R Juniper’s latest research – Sharing economy: opportunities, impacts and disruptors 2016-2020 – found that shared space platforms, such as Airbnb are allowing users to rent rooms in residential properties at rates often undercutting traditional hotel rooms, disrupting the leisure and tourism industry significantly. R With these providers taking a proportion of reservation and booking fees, revenues are set to grow from an estimated €2.05bn in 2015 to €5.4bn globally by 2019. R The research discovered that the ease of use provided by Airbnb in terms of no-nonsense booking, as well as the financial rewards available to registered property owners, will see a surge in both listings and bookings. R Forecast growth in the shared space industry will hold significant concern for the hotel industry, where in many cases shared space providers are not bound by the same rules and regulations as traditional establishments, leading Continued on column 1, page 14 6
Brexit: Flying out of the window by Murray Bailey J What will happen in the travel business if the referendum on the United Kingdom staying in the European Union goes the wrong way, and the UK leaves? R We make some observations on what that might mean – on access between the UK and the EU, and vice versa, for travellers; on EasyJet, Ryanair, other airlines and others. R We add that although there are some laws/rules – such as flights within the EU, flights from EU markets to the US, etc – that does not mean that everything will automatically follow those rules. There is always room for negotiation, and room for horse-trading – “I’ll do this if you do that”. There is also a lot that is not ‘written’ – because no country has ever exited from the EU. R We also note that the UK-leavers assume, almost promise, that they will get a better deal with the EU than they have now. We think they will be wrong, almost entirely, and some of our points are shown below. R We also think that the EU will not do the UK any favours – if only because it does not want other countries to decide they would be better outside the EU. R Also, whatever those in the UK think, the United Kingdom is a small country/market when compared to a giant EU. National pride is not enough to ensure economic well-being. R Access to-and-from the UK. We think for travellers this would be easier, because ironically, the UK-outside-EU will probably have to follow Schengen free-movement rules. We base this on the belief that if the UK wants a trade pact with the EU – which is likely – it will have to accept certain rules in exchange. R Non-EU Norway and Switzerland (plus Iceland and Liechtenstein) already do this – accept Schengen immigration rules in part-exchange for trade access to
the European Union. R Ironically, the UK-leavers are using unwanted immigration from the EU into the UK as one of their reasons to exit. Unless the post-exit government is ready to lose a big part of the UK’s export market, thus damage the economy, it will have to accept Schengen or a Schengen-fudge. R A Schengen-like deal on immigration would likely mean many more visitors for the UK from the world’s biggest (or second-biggest, depending on how you count) outbound market – China. R At present, travellers from China need one visa to visit 26 countries in Europe (plus three microstates) and a second visa to visit just the UK. Unsurprisingly, many do not bother with a UK visa, and so the UK loses out. R We estimate that with Schengen, the UK’s visitor count from China would double in 15 months, treble in 24 months. R easyJet. As a UK airline, there is a fair chance it will lose its rights to fly within the EU, or at least some of them, and from EU markets to non-EU. That could mean shut down for its Geneva base, for instance. R Switzerland could allow easyJet to continue operating there (according to EU laws), but the EU might not let EJ – as a non-EU airline – fly into EU airports from Geneva. R And likewise, those EJ routes such as Italy-Malta, France-Germany, France-Morocco might be stopped. If that is bad, the possible outcome for Ryanair could be good for easyJet. R Ryanair. As an EU-based airline, Ireland’s Ryanair would seem to be in a strong position. It could even take up many of those routes and bases – such as Geneva – that easyJet might be forced to stop.
R But Ryanair has a big operation in the United Kingdom, flying to many EU areas from its 16 UK bases. If the EU stops these, Ryanair could lose 20% of its traffic overnight – and travellers would lose access to the airline’s low fares. (It has a 16% share in the UK – between the top three: Ryanair, easyJet and British Airways.) R Just as Ryanair might be able to take over EJ’s EU routes and hubs, then EJ might be able to take over Ryanair’s UK-based routes into the EU – a giant boost for easyJet. R Other airlines. IAG (comprising Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia and Vueling) might need to make some adjustments, but with a UK-based airline, BA, as well as EU-based Aer Lingus, Iberia, Vueling, it should not have difficulty. For instance, ownership of its Open Skies (an airline, despite that strange name) operation Paris-US could be switched to one of its EUbased airlines. R Norwegian. Trouble. Even though a non-EU airline, as noted above, it is included in some EU agreements. One is aviation. Norway, as a member of the European Economic Area, participates in many EU agreements, including free movement (although it pays a fee for that free movement) of labour and goods. The US/EU aviation agreement specifically included Norway. This sometimes has surprising results – for instance, Norwegian flies from the US to France’s Caribbean colonies of Guadeloupe and Martinique. R But, almost certainly, the US would take this opportunity to try again to stop Norwegian’s operations from the UK to the US. R Others. We do not think operations such as Eurostar would be affected, although given the attitude of France’s anti-world unions, this is possible. But some less-prominent operations (such as France’s state-owned rail company SNCF’s intra-UK operations) might be threatened. An extract from a report in the April issue of the France-based Travel Business Analyst newsletter 7
Language students play truant as 2015 arrivals dip Valletta J Last year 75,524 foreign students attended English language courses in Malta, a drop of 2.6% over 2014’s 77,550, the National Statistics Office reports. R The majority of students were Italian (23.8%), German (13.7%) and French (10.1%). R Together, these three nationalities accounted for 47.6% of total students’ arrivals (see Foreign students’ arrivals 2015). R The largest number of language students were 15 years old or younger – these totalled 21,247 and accounted for 28.1% of students’ arrivals; up 23.1% over 2014. R Students aged 50 and over were in the minority, with just 4,486; slightly up from 4,252 the previous year (see Students’ arrivals by age and gender 2015).
Students’ arrivals by age and gender 2015 Age Females Males Totals1 -15 12,261 8,985 21,247 16-17 8,534 6,162 14,697 18-25 9,284 7,231 16,518 26-35 5,642 4,112 9,757 36-49 4,979 3,283 8,262 50+ 2,793 1,693 4,486 Age not known 341 216 557 Totals 43,834 31,682 75,524 1
Includes students whose sex is not known
R Females outnumbered males, and accounted for 58% of the entire student population. R July was the busiest month for English language schools, with 15,812 arrivals, or 20.9% of the annual total. This was followed by August and June with 16.5 and 11.3 per cent of total arrivals respectively. A similar pattern was also noted in 2014. R The most popular course offered in 2015 by these specialist schools was, not surprisingly, General English. This course alone accounted for 53,811 students (71.3%). R This was followed by the Inten-
Foreign students’ arrivals 2015 Country Females Males Totals1 % share Austria 1,920 1,831 3,751 4.97 Belgium 470 294 764 1.01 Brazil 1,479 867 2,347 3.11 Colombia 458 281 739 0.98 Czech Republic 2,228 922 3,151 4.17 France 4,508 3,149 7,657 10.14 Germany 5,976 4,388 10,364 13.72 Hungary 403 296 699 0.93 Italy 9,931 8,023 17,956 23.78 Japan 1,231 362 1,593 2.11 Libya 357 812 1,170 1.55 Netherlands 779 307 1,086 1.44 Poland 1,729 1,020 2,749 3.64 Russia 3,464 2,254 5,720 7.57 Slovakia 411 252 663 0.88 Spain 1,930 1,339 3,269 4.33 Switzerland 1,376 1,044 2,420 3.20 Turkey 891 1,399 2,290 3.03 Ukraine 381 268 649 0.86 Others2 3,912 2,574 6,487 8.59 Totals 43,834 31,682 75,524 100.00 1 2
Includes students whose sex is not known Includes students whose nationality is not known
sive English course, with 15.2% of total students. R Foreign students attending English language courses comprised 4.2% of the total number of tourists who travelled to Malta in 2015. In July, 206,626 foreigners visited Malta, of these 7.7% were English language students. R The majority of students (29.8%) resided with a host family, an increase of 2.5 points over 2014 (see Students’ accommodation usage 2015). R Accommodation in hotels was chosen by 14,530 students, an increase of 3.4% over 2014. R Collectively, foreign students enrolled in schools for English language spent 238,481 weeks in Malta. The average length of stay per student was 3.2 weeks – the same as in 2014. R With an average of 15.9 weeks, students from Colombia recorded the highest average length of stay. These were followed by Libyan and Turkish students with an average stay of 11.9 and 7.8 weeks respectively. R In 2015, the teaching staff at
English language schools numbered 1,444, and most were females. R Of these, most (44.4%) were aged between 18 and 24. R Female teaching personnel comprised 69.3% of the total teaching staff.
Students’ accommodation usage 2015 Accommodation Females Males Totals1 Hotel 8,444 6,084 14,530 5 Star 146 133 279 4 Star 3,584 2,401 5,986 3 Star 4,714 3,550 8,265 Other collective accommodation2 6,066 4,114 10,181 Host families 13,555 8,977 22,532 Self-catering 5,556 4,209 9,765 Others3 10,213 8,298 18,516 Totals 43,834 31,682 75,524 1 Includes students whose sex is not known 2 Guest houses, hostels and private homes 3 Includes accommodation not provided by the school
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Data bank Comments on tables J All raw data in Data bank, and elsewhere in Island Travel Trader, are sourced from the Central Bank of Malta (CBM), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA), Malta International Airport (MIA), the Malta Stock Exchange (MSE), the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA), the Ministry for Finance and the National Statistics Office (NSO) - unless otherwise credited. J NSO data may differ for some months due to rounding, see Arrivals by gender. J All statistics are based on tourist arrivals; that is, they exclude cruise passengers that overnight in Malta, see Aggregate international arrivals.
International arrivals 2016 Country
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Totals % Share
Austria 2,333 2,333 0.83 Belgium 1,932 1,932 0.69 France 3,772 5,497 6,444 15,713 5.58 Germany 7,895 7,729 11,346 26,969 9.59 Ireland 2,571 2,571 0.91 Italy 17,470 14,531 18,979 50,980 18.12 Libya 176 176 0.06 Netherlands 2,097 2,097 0.75 6,984 6,984 2.48 Nordic region* Russia 832 832 0.30 Spain 3,028 3,028 1.08 1,340 1,340 0.48 Switzerland UK 23,241 26,800 36,993 87,034 30.94 US 1,872 1,872 0.67 Others 32,439 26,449 18,590 77,478 27.54 Totals 84,817 81,005 115,518 281,340 100.00 2015 74,280 74,516 101,771 151,922 177,204 183,764 206,627 246,485 192,550 196,692 113,042 72,569 1,791,422 Difference 10,537 6,489 13,747 * Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden
Aggregate international arrivals 2016 Arrivals
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Totals % Share
Tourists 84,817 81,005 115,519 281,341 99.64 Cruise pax overnighting 622 381 0 1,003 0.36 Totals 85,439 81,386 115,519 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 282,344 100.00 2015 74,280 74,516 101,771 153,564 177,896 187,616 207,542 248,284 194,189 199,937 115,105 72,568 1,807,268 Dfference 11,159 6,870 13,748
Mode of travel 2016 Mode
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Totals % Share
Air 82,214 78,338 112,143 272,695 96.93 Sea 2,603 2,667 3,376 8,646 3.07 Totals 84,817 81,005 115,519 281,341 100.00
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Data bank Monthly arrivals comparison Jan Feb Mar Apr Country 2015 2016 %+/- 2015 2016 %+/- 2015 2016 %+/- 2015 2016 %+/ Austria 1,305 1,962 2,333 18.91 3,332 Belgium 1,167 1,915 1,932 0.91 3,843 France 5,074 3,772 -25.66 4,983 5,497 10.31 6,908 6,444 -6.72 11,944 Germany 7,456 7,895 5.89 7,120 7,729 8.55 10,037 11,346 13.04 14,920 Ireland 1,782 1,902 2,571 35.19 3,189 Italy 13,695 17,470 27.56 13,547 14,531 7.26 19,492 18,979 -2.63 23,755 Libya 474 176 -62.87 766 Netherlands 1,427 1,665 2,097 25.95 3,212 Nordic region* 2,464 2,918 3,567 6,984 95.80 9,400 Russia 543 832 53.27 982 Spain 1,423 3,028 112.77 4,862 Switzerland 1,422 1,774 1,340 -24.49 3,134 UK 21,306 23,241 9.08 24,161 26,800 10.92 31,950 36,993 15.78 44,619 US 1,203 1,371 1,872 36.56 1,616 Others 15,979 32,439 103.01 21,787 26,449 21.40 16,788 18,590 10.74 22,348 Totals 74,280 84,817 14.19 74,516 81,005 8.71 101,771 115,518 13.51 151,922 * Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden
Seasonal arrivals pattern
Arrivals by gender 2016
Season 2015 2016 Official Females % Males % Calculated tourist females males tourist Winter arrivals arrivals Arrivals 334,407 165,822 % 18.67 58.94 Jan 84,817 36,711 43.28 48,106 56.72 84,817 Feb 81,005 37,158 45.87 43,847 54.13 81,005 (Jan, Feb, Nov, Dec) Mar 115,519 56,660 49.05 58,858 50.95 115,518 Shoulder Apr Arrivals 811,353 115,519 May % 45.29 41.06 Jun (Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Oct) Jul Aug Summer Sep Arrivals 645,662 Oct % 36.04 Nov (Jul, Aug, Sep) Dec Totals 1,791,422 281,341 Totals 281,341 130,529 150,811 281,340 100.00 100.00
Socio-demographic profile of travellers 2016 By age Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Totals % Share 0-24 9,592 11,076 18,721 39,389 14.00 25-44 31,816 24,338 34,698 90,852 32.29 45-64 29,498 30,604 40,586 100,688 35.79 65+ 13,911 14,987 21,514 50,412 17.92 Totals 84,817 81,005 115,519 281,341 100.00
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Data bank Socio-demographic profile of travellers 2016 (continued) Purpose of visit Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Totals % Share Business 9,492 9,291 10,292 29,075 10.33 Holiday 71,844 66,137 94,328 232,309 82.57 Other 3,481 5,577 10,899 19,957 7.09 Totals 84,817 81,005 115,519 281,341 100.00 Type Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Totals % Share FIT 51,040 45,894 62,214 159,148 56.57 Package 33,777 35,111 53,304 122,192 43.43 Totals 84,817 81,005 115,518 281,340 100.00 Expenditure Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Totals FIT 20,059 17,537 24,458 62,054 of which Accommodation 9,813 8,922 11,980 30,715 Air/sea fares 10,247 8,616 12,478 31,341 Package 17,919 17,742 30,416 66,077 Other 27,283 22,558 31,382 81,223 Totals (â‚Ź000s) 65,261 57,837 86,256 209,354 Length of stay Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Totals % Share (nights) 1-3 19,624 21,140 24,257 65,021 23.11 4-6 24,189 22,236 36,672 83,097 29.54 7+ 41,004 37,630 54,589 133,223 47.35 Average LoS 7.70 7.20 6.90 7.27 100.00 Visit frequency Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec First visit 54,454 53,959 80,092 Repeat visit 30,363 27,046 35,427 of which Once a year 19,921 18,792 23,513 More than once a year 10,442 8,254 11,914
Accommodation occupancy and monthly comparison Jan Feb Mar Apr 2015 2016 %+/- 2015 2016 %+/- 2015 2016 %+/- 2015 2016 %+/ Collective* 56,936 63,151 10.92 59,018 63,269 7.20 81,559 88,108 8.03 113,760 Private 17,345 21,666 24.91 15,498 17,736 14.44 20,211 27,411 35.62 38,164 Totals 74,281 84,817 14.18 74,516 81,005 8.71 101,770 115,519 13.51 151,924 * Hotels, tourist villages, guest houses, hostels, B&B and campsites
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Data bank Guest nights and monthly comparison Jan Feb Mar Apr 2015 2016 %+/- 2015 2016 %+/- 2015 2016 %+/- 2015 2016 %+/ Collective* 385,919 409,159 6.02 376,161 405,877 7.90 524,864 569,397 8.48 701,384 Private 216,591 247,401 14.22 153,179 175,517 14.58 199,359 233,313 17.03 317,428 Totals 602,510 656,560 8.97 529,340 581,394 9.83 724,223 802,710 10.84 1,018,812 * Hotels, tourist villages, guest houses, hostels, B&B and campsites
Malta International Airport traffic 2016
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Totals
International pax Arrivals 119,169 121,273 169,452 409,894 Departures 117,383 115,375 158,072 390,830 Totals 236,552 236,648 327,524 800,724 International aircraft movements Arrivals 970 876 1,172 3,018 Departures 973 878 1,169 3,020 Totals 1,943 1,754 2,341 6,038 Cargo (tonnes) Import 726 685 785 2,196 Export 334 323 456 1,113 Totals 1,060 1,008 1,241 3,309
Malta International Airport monthly traffic comparison Jan Feb Mar Apr 2015 2016 %+/- 2,015 2016 %+/- 2,015 2016 %+/- 2,015 2016 %+/International pax Arrivals 104,941 119,169 13.56 106,882 121,273 13.46 141,405 169,452 19.83 201,908 Departures 103,935 117,383 12.94 102,014 115,375 13.10 133,929 158,072 18.03 191,284 Totals 208,876 236,552 13.25 208,896 236,648 13.29 275,334 327,524 18.96 393,192 International aircraft movements Arrivals 915 970 6.01 844 876 3.79 1,038 1,172 12.91 1,527 Departures 916 973 6.22 843 878 4.15 1,038 1,169 12.62 1,527 Totals 1,831 1,943 6.12 1,687 1,754 3.97 2,076 2,341 12.76 3,054 Cargo (tonnes) Import 611 726 18.82 660 685 3.79 643 785 22.08 661 Export 406 334 -17.73 394 323 -18.02 502 456 -9.16 519 Totals 1,017 1,060 4.23 1,054 1,008 -4.36 1,145 1,241 8.38 1,180
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Data bank Malta International Airport passenger movements 2016 Top 10 countries by month Country Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Totals % Share Austria 7,059 7,059 1.04 Belgium 5,093 5,305 10,398 1.53 France 9,826 10,940 14,132 34,898 5.15 Germany 30,616 31,759 45,192 107,567 15.87 Italy 58,494 58,560 72,843 189,897 28.02 Netherlands 6,536 6,471 8,131 21,138 3.12 Poland 5,145 5,145 0.76 Spain 5,888 5,239 9,662 20,789 3.07 Switzerland 4,651 7,002 11,653 1.72 Turkey 9,411 8,350 17,761 2.62 UAE 6,053 5,665 11,718 1.73 UK 67,337 73,227 99,166 239,730 35.37
Cruise ship traffic 2016
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Totals
Cruise ship calls 17 17 Pax traffic Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Totals % share Landed pax 205 205 0.52 Transit pax 39,170 39,170 99.48 Totals 39,375 39,375 100.00 Nationality Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Totals % share Australia 424 424 1.08 Canada 600 600 1.52 France 4,346 4,346 11.04 Germany 4,878 4,878 12.39 Italy 6,884 6,884 17.48 794 2.02 Japan 794 Malta 72 72 0.18 Spain 1,465 1,465 3.72 UK 3,814 3,814 9.69 US 3,277 3,277 8.32 Others 12,821 12,821 32.56 Totals 39,375 39,375 100.00 Pax by gender Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Totals % share Females 21,002 21,002 53.34 Males 18,373 18,373 46.66 Totals 39,375 39,375 100.00 Notes: Landed pax arrive in Malta on a cruise ship and leave the islands by other means. Transit pax are arrive and leave Malta on the same cruise ship
Pax by age Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Totals % share 0-19 6,039 6,039 15.34 20-39 6,331 6,331 16.08 11,404 11,404 28.96 40-59 60-79 14,021 14,021 35.61 1,580 4.01 80+ 1,580 Totals 39,375 39,375 100.00
Quarterly cruise traffic comparisons
Q1 2015 2016 %+/ Cruise ship calls 9 17 88.89 Pax traffic 2015 2016 %+/Landed pax 71 205 188.73 Transit pax 20,582 39,170 90.31 Totals 20,653 39,375 90.65 Nationality 2015 2016 %+/ Australia 189 424 124.34 Canada 310 600 93.55 France 2,783 4,346 56.16 Germany 3,697 4,878 31.94 Italy 5,091 6,884 35.22 Japan 187 794 324.60 Malta 1 72 7,100.00 Spain 743 1,465 97.17 UK 1,502 3,814 153.93 US 561 3,277 484.14 Others 5,589 12,821 129.40 Totals 20,653 39,375 90.65
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Continued from page 6 them to undercut pricing and avoid restrictions. R Research author Lauren Foye explains: “the shared space industry, which includes provider Airbnb, is set to significantly impact the hotel industry, with consumers set to spend over €30bn in 2020. That sum represents approximately 6% of today’s global hotel industry market size”. R Whilst Uber – not yet available in Malta – has struggled to gain a significant foothold in China, largely due to the dominance of Taxi hailing service Didi Kuaidi, Uber is not without the determination and the means to force its way into new markets. R Uber has reportedly spent €1bn per year on expansion in China alone. In addition, it has recently set its sights on disrupting the huge motorbike taxi industries of India and Thailand, displaying a willingness and drive to aggressively obtain market share. R Uber’s February announcement that it is to launch its UberMOTO service in India, opens it to an enormous potential market – the city of Bangalore alone has 3.5mn registered motorbikes, and India already allows motorbike taxi bookings through applications in two states.
March arrivals bouyant Valletta J Total arrivals for March stood at 115,519, an increase of 14.2% over the corresponding month of 2015, reports the National Statistics Office. R A total of 94,328 people travelled to the islands for a holiday, whilst a further 10,292 came on business (see Socio-demographic profile of
travellers 2016 on page 10). R Arrivals from EU member countries went up by 15.2% to 99,703 when compared to March last year. R The largest proportion of visitors were aged between 45 and 64, followed by those in the 25 to 44 age bracket. R Total nights spent went up by 11.6% to 802,711. R The largest share of guest nights (70.9%) were spent in hotels.
J Kudos to Floriana-based Europa Tours for their 2016 brochure, launched recently at AMITEX. R What strikes us as odd with this colourful 60-pager is that most of the brochure is in Maltese – all tours, prices, conditions, etc.
R Odd may not be the right word; after all, Maltese is one of the two national languages of the country. Let’s say it’s a strange brochure. R Strange because the only tours in English are long haul ones – to Thailand, China and an Alaska cruise that also takes in bits of Canada. R One wonders, does Europa Tours believe Maltese readers do not travel long haul? And are English readers only interested in far flung corners of the world, do they not travel to European destination as well?
Stop Press J As we were about to publish this edition of Island Travel Trader, and referring to the lead story, a MHRA council member told us that he had been in touch with both Booking.com and Expedia “to check whether they can firstly include the date i.e. 1 June and secondly correct the wording to “Eco Contribution’”. Publisher and Editor: Terence Mirabelli. Email: tmirabelli@travelmalta.com. Group Advertisement Director: Josephine Mirabelli. Email: jomirabelli@travelmalta.com Island Publications Limited, 36/38 Triq L-Isperanza, Mosta MST 1309, Malta. Tel: (+356) 21431864. Site: www.travelmalta.com. Island Travel Trader is published 10 times a year and distributed in portable document format (pdf) by email on a controlled circulation basis to senior personnel of all airlines operating to and from Malta, the senior management of cruise lines whose ships call at Malta, foreign tour operators who programme the islands, all domestic travel agents in and those foreign-based who actively sell services to the islands, international and national conference and exhibition organisers, incentive and special interest travel companies, Malta-based hoteliers and car rental firms. © Island Publications Ltd 2016. All rights reserved. No reproduction, copying, image scanning, storing or recording by any means in any form nor broadcasting or transmission through any medium of any part of this newsletter is permitted without the express consent of Island Publications Limited.
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