Reflection FOUR
I have frequently expressed an opinion to my
partners, and also remarked in my published
articles, that the situation we were experiencing
was in no way related to rates. Of course,
clients always prefer a higher value for their
money, but price or rate was not the most
important factor in this particular situation.
Many hoteliers however came to accept this
as a fact only as the season progressed. Early
price dumping in May and June, in a bid to
attract business, did not succeed in luring
stronger levels of bookings but later in the
season when many hotels were able to charge
premium rates, some hoteliers regretted earlier price reductions which led to a lower average
room rate. The practice of offering added
value to the regular rates continues to be more
attractive, sustainable, and profitable, than
simply a cheaper rate.
Reflection FIVE
Although I have no evidence to confirm this, it
seems that the type of visitor we had in Malta
this Summer was different, or at least acted
differently, from the visitor we typically had
in Summer 2019 and in previous years. Many
visitors were just happy to be here, enjoying
outdoor life and generally not interested too
much in sightseeing, particularly if it involved
visiting indoor sites or attractions. After long
periods of not being able to travel, many of our
guests were thrilled to be away from home and
in the sun. It may also be that the profile of
the visitor was a different one; at least it seems
to have been younger, and many of these
may have been typical travellers in the past
to sun soaked beaches in Turkey, Tunisia and
elsewhere, but came to Malta as it was certainly
one of the safest places to be.
Reflection SIX
A key issue this Summer has been the lack of
employees in the sector. Perhaps the industry’s
“comeback” was too fast and there was no
chance to attract back foreign employees who
had returned home during COVID. Demand for
employees is high, the supply continues to be
low, and wages have gone up because of this.
But do not think this is a phenomenon that we
only experienced here in Malta. Cases of hotel
properties, restaurants, and other suppliers
not able to operate due to lack of personnel
have been reported all over Europe and at least
as well in the US. There may be cases that
employees are looking to work in industries that
are not as volatile as tourism and the industry
needs to make the effort to promote itself again
as an attractive and reliable career option to
prospective employees.
REFLECTIONS on the
coming months
As we come to the end of Summer our thoughts
now turn to winter. Media reports continue
to fuel concern about the next virus variant,
influencing travellers to continue to be cautious
with their travel plans. While suppliers need to
be prudent in their strategies and pricing, they
should take this Summer as an example and
steer away from aggressive price led sales and
marketing actions. Winter is typically the low
season when demand is sluggish, and this year it
is not expected to be any different. Going into
Summer 2022 we should do so with a sense of
cautious optimism as results are widely expected
to be better than this year. However, if we have
learnt anything from Summer 2021, it is that the
situation is continuously changing, and forward
planning may for now be difficult but being agile
to grab opportunities as they come may make
the difference at the end of the day.
Joseph Galea
JG Tourism Solutions (joe@jgtourismsolutions.com)
Joseph Galea is the founder of JG Tourism Solutions, a private marketing consultancy he set up to offer personal and expert advice to hotels, travel agents and other companies and entities in hospitality, tourism, and aviation. His current list of clients including airlines, destination management companies, conventions and events centre, cruise line handling companies and hotels. He is also tourism industry specialist to Horeca magazine.
With over 30 years’ experience in the industry, Joseph had been Director of International Marketing for the Malta Tourism Authority up to 2014, during which time he spearheaded the shift in the way tourism to the islands was promoted and laid down the road to consecutive years of record numbers of arrivals, and guest night stays, that the Maltese islands experienced annually up to 2019.
In 2014 he joined Air Malta to run the Commercial department but was eventually appointed as Acting CEO from 2016 to September 2018. Under his tenure the airline recorded its first positive financial performance after many years.
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