Gozo tourism operators overwhelmingly dependent on foreign workers

The overwhelming dependence of Gozitan tourism operators on foreign workers has been confirmed by a survey carried out by the Gozo Tourism Association.

The survey released today shows that 61% of Gozitan businesses said that 70% or more of their staff compliment is made up of foreign workers.

The findings form part of a survey covering the performance of businesses in Gozo between January and April this year. Businesses in the accommodation sector, restaurants, diving centres, tourist attractions, transport, tour operators, destination management companies, travel agencies, real estate and tourism consultancy firms, were surveyed.

The GTA said that higher operating costs were identified as the principle business constraint by 77% of respondents, while 74% identified staff shortages.

But the overall findings paint an optimistic picture for 2022, the GTA said with tourism establishments expecting this year to be “the recovery year”.

During the January to April period, establishments reported “encouraging signs”, the GTA said, with 53% recording more business than the same period in 2021.

A third of establishments reported that their performance was the same, while 13% reported less business.

The GTA said that the results also reflected better income from foreign markets with 57% of respondents saying that the impact of non-domestic tourism on their business was better than that for the first four months of 2021.

A further 30% said the impact of external tourism between January and April 2022 was equal to that experienced in the same period last year.

And Easter was a boon for Gozitan establishments with 60% noting that the period was better this year than last, while 27% said it was the same.

However, 13% of establishments reported less business during the Easter period this year.

In terms of revenue generated, 53% of businesses reported better income, 30% said it was the same level as last year and 13% reported a drop in revenue.

The GTA said that 43% of respondents are envisaging better business during 2022 when compared to 2021, with another 23% predicting a “very promising year” but not exceeding results of 2019.