Hoteliers expecting more records in tourism

Hoteliers are expecting more positive results in September as the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) published its Deloitte-BOV 2012 second quarter survey results.

The survey shows that tourist arrivals have been reaching record levels since April after suffering a dip in the first quarter of the year.

Compared to last year, tourist arrivals went up by 3.6% guest nights went up by 11.4% and tourist expenditure increased by 7.7%.

All major markets, apart from the Benelux countries, registered an increase. The greatest increases were registered in the Spanish market with an increase of 8.5%, Italy, which increased by 6.4% and France, which registered a 4.8% increase in the second quarter.

The MHRA president, Tony Zahra said: "Having reached the second week of September we can now safely say that both and August arrivals have been record months and the expectation is that September will also be a record month, although October is still underperforming and might need some pushing."

Bookings for the rest of September are on the up, however Zahra warned that more must be done for the forthcoming winter months. According to preliminary booking records, tourist arrivals next month are expected to increase marginally by 0.1% and by 0.4% in November.

"The big question is quarter four. We are in talks with MTA and Air Malta about increasing the seat load factor and increasing accessibility to Malta in the winter and shoulder months," Zahra said.

He explained that the number of seats will not be increasing this summer however if the seat load factor is pushed up it will benefit the hotel industry and the airlines.

During the event, Air Malta's chief commercial officer Philip Saunders announced that the airline will be maintaining the same seat capacity in winter due to the airline's commitment to the European Commission's restructuring programme. However, he said Air Malta is doing its utmost to increase the seat load factor.

Saunders added that this month Air Malta was processing around 900 bookings per day, which is on par with the peak summer months.

Zahra also said that despite the increase in arrivals, bed nights and expenditure, costs have also increased. At this point, he passionately urged hoteliers not to panic and resist calls to lower their rates.

Hotel occupancy in five star hotels stood at 78.5% ( 3.6%) while that of four star hotels stood at 77%, a slight decrease of 2.7% over last year.

Occupancy in three star hotels was 73. 5% ( 1.5%). The most staggering increase was registered by hostels, guest houses and tourist villages which registered a 30% increase in the first six months of 2012.

The report found an increase in room rates when compared to the same period last year. Moreover, the gross operating profit per available room improved in each of the three hotel categories.

All three categories also registered an increase in average achieved room rate and in the operating profit per available room.

Despite the positive results in the second quarter, the first six months of the year showed lower occupancy levels when compared to 2011. However, the MHRA survey shows that this trend is expected to be reversed in the third quarter.