Industry leaders rue MTA chief’s resignation

Several key players in the tourism industry said they were left “shocked” and “saddened” by the recent resignation of the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) CEO, Josef Formosa Gauci.

The outgoing chief executive officer has been in the post for the past six years and was appointed by the previous administration. He was kept on by the Labour government in the aftermath of last year’s general election, with increasingly record-high levels of inbound tourists to the country in 2013 and the first six months of 2014 seemingly justifying the decision to retain Formosa Gauci.

“The fact that the tourism industry has enjoyed a number of record years recently is a result of the key stakeholders understanding each other and working very closely together,” Winston Zahra, CEO of Island Hotels Group Holdings, told this newspaper.

“Mr Formosa Gauci was very much part of the successes achieved and it is a shame to see him leave this crucial post.”

Zahra said that “the writing seemed to be on the wall” and admitted that he was not all too surprised when the news was confirmed – a veiled reference to the open secret of the rift between Formosa Gauci and the new MTA chairman Gavin Gulia, the former Labour MP, who is set to become an executive chairperson of the authority.

Asked whether the timing of the resignation was particularly problematic due to the fact that it fell right in the middle of the summer months, Zahra conceded that there was “never a good time” for such resignations.

“If it has to happen, then it is always better for decisions to be taken and avoid uncertainly. Even now that the decision has been taken it would be a mistake for things to be allowed to drag on until a replacement is found. The tourism industry needs clear direction and certainty if we want to continue enjoying positive results.”

Zahra said that it was now important for the process of finding a replacement to be handled expeditiously. “As a country, we cannot afford any strategic mistakes that could derail the achievements made over the past years,” he said.

“It would also be wise to ensure that there is agreement among the major key stakeholders of the industry as the close working relationship of these stakeholders has been the backbone of what has been achieved over the past years and this needs to be maintained and possibly even strengthened going forward.”

Joe Muscat – CEO of the Gozo Tourism Association (GTA) – said losing people with “vast knowledge and experience” in the tourism sector meant that such attributes would be “very costly and time-consuming to replace.”

“We were really and truly saddened by the news of this resignation,” Muscat said. “He had the right requisites and competencies to steer the MTA. We know and have experienced Mr Formosa Gauci’s competences in the tourism sector, and his role together with the MTA management team around him, played an important part in the positive tourism results achieved during his tenure. The person who replaces Formosa Gauci should be someone with an experienced  touristic baggage and prepared to fully commit himself.”

The Gulia factor

Formosa Gauci’s name was splashed across the newspapers in February this year after he reportedly pocketed €23,000 in allowances over and above his salary. Then Tourism Minister Karmenu Vella came out in defence of Formosa Gauci but the authority’s chairman, Gavin Gulia did not quite seem to share the same level of camaraderie towards his CEO.

Gulia, a former Labour minister who was not elected in the 2013 general election, was rumoured to have been disappointed at being overlooked for the CEO post, with an ensuing breakdown in the relationship between Formosa Gauci and Gulia believed to have been one of the reasons – if not the main reason – for Formosa Gauci’s resignation.

On Thursday, Formosa Gauci told MaltaToday that the reason for his decision was based on the premise that, after six years in the post, he was now looking for a new challenge.

However, when asked directly whether internal conflicts played a part in his decision, Formosa Gauci simply said that he would “stand by (his) first comment”.

Iain Tonna, president of the Federated Association of Travel and Tourism Agents (FATTA) and a board member at the MTA, had little doubt that frosty relationships at the authority played a major role in Formosa Gauci choosing to end his six-year tenure.

He was not willing, however, to specify with any names. “I am convinced that internal conflicts not only played a part in Mr Formosa Gauci’s decision to step down, but were actually the only reason for this,” Tonna said.

“I would not, however, delve into between whom these conflicts may or may not have been. I can only imagine that, to reach this stage, the conflicts would have come from different parties at the MTA and beyond to the extent that he may have felt isolated and without the necessary moral support to continue performing his role. He was even unable to count on the support of the MTA board as this has been rendered ineffective at best for the most of this year.”

Attempts to contact Gavin Gulia by telephone and e-mail at the time of writing were unsuccessful.