MHRA looks forward to increased seat capacity in 2013

The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association welcomed the news that Ryanair, Air Baltic and Air Malta have taken concrete initiatives that will result in in seat capacity increases.

"Improved seat capacity is always good news for our tourism industry but more significantly to the Maltese general economy," MHRA said in a statement.

Yesterday Ryanair announced that it was adding three routes to its Malta schedule as of April 2013.

"These routes will mean 12 extra flights a week that translate to 15% growth in the Airline's capacity this year. Furthermore, added to the already established routes, Ryanair will be operating 170 weekly flights to and from Malta. It is also encouraging to note that next year the airline is estimating to bring to the Island an extra 60,000 tourist," MHRA said.

The association also welcomed Air Malta's 25% reduction in its winter tickets. This initiative has led to the national airline to increase its sales by 5,000 seats or 69% when compared to the same period last year. This morning, Air Baltic announced that it will be having a regular weekly flight from Riga Capital city of Latvia.

"All this is positive news and very encouraging for all tourism players and indeed the country, as it comes at a time when the industry is concerned about the potential negative effects on tourism as a result of the economic pressures prevailing in Europe, which represents Malta's main source markets," MHRA president Tony Zahra said.

MHRA reiterated that a critical success factor to the sustainability of the tourism industry is increased accessibility.

"In fact the significant increases in tourist arrivals registered over recent years are indisputably linked to increases in seat capacity to our islands."