Hilton Malta Procurement Manager Nigel Spiteri on Sunday shed light on the need to strike a balance between increasing high-quality tourism and maintaining the industry’s current rate of growth.

Malta’s tourism industry has had a turbulent few years, as the COVID-19 pandemic presented an unprecedented shock that drove it to a complete halt. In the pre-pandemic year (2019), Malta registered just under 2.8 million inbound tourists, indicating the sheer magnitude of business activity and the sector’s importance in Malta.

By referring to a study conducted in 2021 by Bulin et al., Mr Spiteri, who is a hospitality industry veteran, explained that the tourism industry contributes to 10.8 per cent in direct employment and 21.1 per cent in general due to the snowball effect.

Hilton Malta Procurement Manager Nigel Spiteri / LinkedIn

Malta experienced a rise in inbound tourists during the first quarter of 2023 when compared to the comparative periods in the previous three years, while expenditure per person was reported at €705, a drop from 2022’s €710. Despite this, Mr Spiteri noted that room rates during the opening quarter tend to be significantly lower when compared to peak summer season, and therefore “one cannot conclude that during this year, tourists will be spending less” when compared to pre-pandemic years and 2022. This is despite Malta’s tourism being the least impacted in the EU, making the country a year-round destination for tourists.

As a result, he noted that there is “little agreement, in general, over the best way forward for Malta”.

“Some argue that we need volumes to sustain the businesses and recover from the pandemic hit, whilst others are putting forward the idea that Malta should look at reorganising the tourism strategy, giving more importance to quality tourism and earning more added value instead of having a plan based on volumes,” Mr Spiteri highlighted.

However, he remarked that when considering Malta’s size, together with the constraints and limits placed on the tourism industry, there is a need to “mildly control” the number of inbound tourists whilst maintaining, if possible, “the same expenditure contributing to the Maltese economy”.

“Such a scenario can be achieved by having a strategy to attract high-quality tourism; to increase the spending per capita. However, we cannot completely abolish and destroy the momentum that the industry is experiencing,” he added.

To best explain this, he recalled how he was listening to a podcast recently where a member of the business community expressed concerns at how Valletta’s Republic Street is going to be “packed with frustrated people”. Mr Spiteri said: “Are we expecting otherwise, or do we want it to be otherwise?”

He noted that this is a “futile argument”, as it is like “criticising the fact that London is busy and they must change the tourism strategy”. “Not sure if these people have travelled to London; in my case, I had to do a Conor McGregor move to get on a train,” he said.

Mr Spiteri highlighted that “balance is key”, as it cannot be argued that Malta “should completely change direction”.

“We need volumes. We need a mix of tourists that will continue to contribute to the industry and the economy in general. We should acknowledge our limits, but let’s not jeopardise the industry and jobs,” he concluded.

Mr Spiteri is vastly experienced within the hospitality industry, having worked as Procurement Manager at Hilton Malta for more than six years. His experience also includes more than nine years at InterContinental Malta and over three years at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.