€76,400 salary, €20,000 bonus for MTA chief

Paul Bugeja, the newly appointed chief executive officer at the Malta Tourism Authority, will be earning €76,400 a year together with a €20,000 performance bonus.

The figures were confirmed by a spokeswoman for the Ministry for Tourism.

Contacted by MaltaToday, the Ministry confirmed that Bugeja – outgoing president of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association – will be earning the €76,400 salary, payable monthly in arrears.

The performance bonus, capped at €20,000, will be given “if the CEO reaches his targets”. These targets, the spokeswoman said, will be set annually by the MTA board, in consultation with the CEO.

Bugeja will also enjoy a fully-serviced car with a maximum retail price of €19,800 and use of car and driver when on official business.

“Bugeja’s financial package is on the lines of his predecessor, Josef Formosa Gauci,” the ministry added.

MaltaToday broke news of Bugeja’s appointment as MTA CEO on Tuesday and he was confirmed as the authority’s new CEO on Thursday by the MTA board.

The new CEO was head-hunted by Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis after Formosa Gauci, who led the MTA for six years, tendered his resignation. To take up the new job, Bugeja will be leaving his post as MHRA president and chief financial officer at Corinthia Group.

In comments to MaltaToday, Zammit Lewis said he wanted the CEO to be a person accepted by the industry.
”Being a small country, there is always a limited pool of experts from whom to choose. I wanted someone who is accepted by the industry, but who is non-political... None better than the president of the biggest non-governmental organisation of the sector,” the minister said.

Zammit Lewis added that Bugeja was a person of integrity and highly competent for the job “who will not allow his past profession to interfere with his new role or influence his decisions”.

There exists a harmonious consensus between the tourism regulator and the industry, and the authority, which also serves as a watchdog, is more of an interlocutor between the government and the industry.

The MTA board itself is composed of representatives of the industry.