Edward Zammit

Q:  With your extensive experience in the horeca industry, particularly in events, how do you see the evolution of Malta’s hospitality sector in the next decade, and how is ITS preparing students to meet these future challenges?

The past 10 years the Maltese Islands experienced an unprecedented growth not just in numbers but also in the evolution of tourism diversifications. We have seen the tourism stakeholders venturing into innovative tourism, which was beneficial to withstand a pandemic that brought the industry to a total shutdown and subsequently a swift recovery.

Post pandemic we changed our goals; there’s a clear understanding from all the stakeholders to take the industry to the next level, embracing quality and detail to our product that we offer as a destination. It is exactly at this point where ITS plays a leading role.

It is ITS’ role to prepare our students through hands-on learning for these needs and wants to achieve excellence in quality.

Q:  As Chairman of ITS, what initiatives are you most proud of that have been implemented under your leadership to enhance the student experience and industry connections?

Through the 37 years of its existence, ITS has achieved high standards with distinctive international features.

ITS is successfully positioning itself on the international platform of Tourism and Hospitality Education. Certainly, building on what our predecessors started, we continued towards the achievements of self-accreditation.

This is attributed to the joint efforts, support, synergies amongst all academics, members of staff, management, Minister and Government. Our commitment and dedication will always remain to support the growth and development of individuals within the tourism and hospitality industry.

Q:  How do you leverage your background in events management to influence the strategic direction of ITS, particularly in terms of industry partnerships and hands-on learning opportunities for students?

The events sector became an integral part of our tourism product. As previously mentioned, we are now aiming for quality and the events industry is no exception.

Malta as a destination, even in its small dimensions has its cultural uniqueness, however, we must preserve it and curate how we present it. High-quality events can only be guaranteed through good practices and management.

Event management studies provide for these requirements. We encourage students towards this specialisation. As events are becoming more intense and demanding organisations and companies are seeking to engage trained personnel. Thus, ITS again stands in to provide the expertise.