TonyZahra

Condé Nast Traveler today announced the results of its annual Readers’ Choice Awards with Phoenicia Malta recognized as one of the Top 3 Hotels in Central and Southern Europe.

The quarter 1 2023 MHRA survey carried out by Deloitte and supported by Bank of Valletta was indeed positive in many aspects as the results were similar to those achieved in 2019 which was the best ever year for the Maltese islands.

2022 arrived with connectivity at its lowest level, and rightly so, as it was near to impossible for visitors to come to Malta satisfying all the COVID health requirements in force at the time - especially given that these requirements seemed to change by the day and by the countries from which the traveller originated. Airlines reacted by cutting down on connectivity and Malta was no exception.

What a difference 6 months can make! We started 2022 with COVID still raging all around us. And with the hospitality industry feeling the pressures of two years of the pandemic. 

As expected in Q1, all categories of hotels in Malta and Gozo had a very difficult time when compared to the record year of 2019. The Pandemic restrictions were more or less still in full force and the appetite for travelers to get on a plane and visit another country was very subdued.

HORECA speaks to Tony Zahra, President of the MHRA, about life after COVID in Malta. Taking a look at the biggest changes that the Hotel, Restaurant and Catering Industry adapted to and the ways of the future for Malta’s Tourism Industry.