ISSUE

06May2016

this issueCorinthia Hotels to spend €80mn on Astoria P3Arrivals from Nordic region, Spain to surge P3Visa restrictions to be lifted for Turks P4Revamped British Hotel reopens P11 Alitalia chairman confirms Etihad paying for KM P12Data bank P5

Published 23 May 2016

The Air Malta-Alitalia ‘deal’More questions than answers

by Terence MirabelliJ Alitalia doesn’t really want to buy a share of Air Malta.R The only reason it’s doing so is because its larg-est shareholder, Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways, wants to channel the relevant funds to invest in Air Malta through an EU carrier.R Which explains why Etihad could “categorically” deny reports that it was buying into KM.R But why would Etihad want to use one of its ‘sub-sidiaries’ to buy into Malta’s flag carrier? There is no obvious need, at this point, to use Alitalia.R Consider the optics; it’s all very opaque.R At 2:44pm on, Wednesday, 27 April the Department of Information notified the media that the minister of tourism would address the press at 3:30pm, but no top-ic was mentioned. (Coincidentally, that morning the National Statistics Office released visitor arrival figures for March. I thought the press conference would be about this, and gave it a miss – my mistake.)

R At that conference Edward Zammit Lewis an-nounced that a memorandum of understanding had been signed with Alitalia for the sale of 49% of KM to the Italian airline, if a due diligence audit was favoura-ble.R Where and when was this MOU signed? Who signed it? Why were there no representatives from Alitalia at the press conference? And why are there no photographs of the MOU signing?

R (As I write this, the DoI has sent me photographs of Zammit Lewis at a MOU signing between the Insti-tute of Tourism Studies and the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology – not exactly the hottest news item of the season, yet photos and the names of the signatories are freely available.)R That evening, 27 April, Zammit Lewis delivered a 1,200-word address to parliament about Air Malta and the memorandum of understanding. He later said a copy of the MOU would be tabled in parliament on 25 May, “once the confidentiality period agreed between both parties expires”.R Alitalia, meantime, issued a short, three paragraph release headlined Alitalia will start a due diligence with the possible intention of becoming a shareholder in Air Malta.R The press release quotes the Italian airline’s newly installed CEO Cramer Ball; most of his quote is puff, yet he states that “we will need to establish unequivo-cally that a deal with Air Malta will not undermine the progress of our three-year turnaround programme, or prejudice our financial position. Until then, it’s busi-ness as usual”. I would have expected a more upbeat comment; as it is, there’s more elation in a tooth extraction. (Air Malta, meanwhile, has not issued a statement about the MOU.)R For a company that declared net losses of €199.1mn in financial 2015 on earnings of €3.3bn, it would seem that a deal with Air Malta will undermine its “turna-round programme”. R In 2014 it posted losses of €580mn, so the bottom line is not as bright red as it previously was, but it’s still some way from black.R Commenting on the company’s results, Alitalia chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo says: “Reduc-ing our losses is a first important step, together with the relentless commitment to improve our services, our fleet and our network with the opening of new strategic intercontinental routes…Return to profitabil-ity in 2017 remains our goal. All our efforts are focused on reaching that target”.R Ball adds: “There is still much to do to reach our long-term goals, but this year has seen our team achieve many significant milestones. The next phase of our investment strategy will see €400 million being committed to fleet, cabins, technology and infrastruc-ture in 2016”.R Nowhere do I read about investing in other com-panies. Interestingly, and undoubtedly coincidentally, Alitalia’s three-year turnaround calls for it to become profitable by 2017 – the same year Air Malta hoped to

Alitalia: A lukewarm prospective shareholder

Continued on column 1, page 2

2

get back into the black (see Island Travel Trader #1, P1), but it will not.R According to KM chairman Maria Micallef, Malta’s flag carrier “should end the current financial year with a loss of €4mn, down from €16mn”. Impressive results, given the circumstances. R As Alitalia’s losses shrink, meanwhile, so does the number of passengers it carries, according to Travel Business Analyst.R “Alitalia’s peak year for seat sales (including Air One) seems to have been 2007, with 31.5mn. The following year – the US sub-prime-year fall – there was a big 19.2% fall”, re-ports TBA in its current newsletter.R “The company”, it continues, “does not reveal growth in 2015 (and did not report 2014 data) – just the figure. That was 22.1mn, thus a shocking 29.9% fall against 2007 – an average annual 4.3% fall”, concludes Travel Business Analyst.R Alitalia is cutting costs and its losses, but is not growing.R So why is it interested in acquir-ing 49% of KM? Clearly, Alitalia’s priorities lie elsewhere, as its chair-man and CEO assert.R There are advantages for an EU airline buying into another EU airline. For instance, Alitalia could buy Air Malta outright – subject to Brussels’ approval.R Etihad, or any other non-EU carrier, would have raised red flags if it attempted to acquire more than a 49.9% stake in an EU airline.R “I don’t think Brussels can legally block a non-EU airline buying an EU airline”, comments Travel Busi-ness Analyst editor Murray Bailey, “but there would not be much point of such a purchase because that airline would then become le-gally a ‘foreign’ airline, and as such could not operate within the EU or from the EU to other points unless it had permission from the EU and other countries.

R “Think, for instance, of Nor-wegian which is a non-EU ergo ‘foreign’ airline yet which operates from an EU state – the UK – into the US, but that is because both the EU and the US have specifical-ly given it rights to operate such routes”, he explains.R Having Alitalia buy the shares with, say, an interest-free loan from Etihad would not violate the rules, thus leaving the door open for further purchases directly by the Abu Dhabi-based airline (or anyone

else) in the future.R The Maltese government has been adamant that it would never sell a majority stake in Air Malta.R “No, there is absolutely no intention to privatise the national airline”, affirms tourism minister Edward Zammit Lewis.R “The government”, he continues, “will remain the majority share-holder, controlling 51%. We have always argued that there are two basic principles at stake here: one, that the brand of ‘Air Malta’ has to be retained. This is important to us; Air Malta must remain Air Malta. Secondly, we have always made it clear that the Maltese government must remain the majority share-holder. None of this changes with the MOU…”R You know what they say about never saying ‘never’.R The other four stakeholders of Air Malta – BoV Investments, Cas-sar & Cooper (Holdings), Mapfre Middlesea and MSV Life – may be interested in selling their shares if the price is right. Then again, they may not in the hope that Air Malta will return to profitability sooner rather than later and they may fi-nally – after 25 dividend-free years – have something to show for their investments.

R Admittedly, they jointly own 20,520 shares or an infinitesimal 0.0156% of Air Malta compared to the government’s 130,979,873 shares or 99.9843% (see Island Travel Trader #2, P1).R These shareholders only discov-ered a possible deal had been out-lined with Alitalia from the media.R No price tag for the 49% of Air Malta has been made public. This will probably be calculated once the due diligence audit is complete, ex-pected to be in July, and if Alitalia

decides to go ahead with the purchase.R Why it should take so long is also questionable. Last November Philip Micallef, Air Malta’s CEO, was reported saying that the com-pany was asked to provide information

on its workforce, its wage bill and other financial data to Etihad Airways.R According to Malta Today, Air Malta’s administration had been “inundated by requests from Etihad for information about the com-pany’s financial situation and its contractual obligations”.R Presumably the Abu Dhabi carri-er was carrying out a due diligence of sorts. And you would think it’s done by now, and that Etihad would forward the paperwork to Alitalia (with the Maltese govern-ment’s approval).R What would be the benefits of Alitalia owning nearly half of Air Malta? Ostensibly, not a lot; except for the initial cash injection that KM needs.R Past investments by the state, however, did not achieve anything because they were not backed by operational changes, Zammit Lewis explains, and adds that “invest-ment, on its own, cannot solve Air Malta’s problems, if not accompa-nied by a thorough reform of work practices”.R Indeed, what Air Malta needs more than anything else is a change of corporate mentality and a new business model.R Since its founding in 1974 it

Etihad Airways: Moneymaking giant posted net profit of €90.9mn

KM losses down €12mn

Continued from page 1

Continued on column 1, page 3

3

has been treated as a government department with perks.R However, according to Maria Micallef there’s a “natural benefit that would arise by this strategic partnership. From a technical and network point of view there is a

natural fit as the networks of Air Malta and Alitalia complement each other”.R Other benefits the Maltese airline would enjoy are joint-pro-curements – such as fuel hedging and purchases – “access to better IT systems and other synergies that would boost profitability and growth whilst reducing Air Mal-ta’s vulnerability due to its lack of economies of scale”.R These are vague generalities, and

No obvious advantage

Continued from page 2

tells us nothing of what Alitalia brings to Air Malta.R Conversely, what does KM offer Alitalia? Not a lot.R Its business prospects are threat-ened by the LCCs that operate to Malta; Ryanair will soon overtake the national airline as the biggest carrier to the islands.R Staffing levels have been reduced

in recent years and Alitalia, or Eti-had, will probably insist on further reductions from the current 900 or so. Something that will not sit well with the unions.R One possible solution is to repeat what the government did with Enemalta’s employees. Set up a state-owned company that hires Air Malta’s excess employees.R The bottom line is that I see no obvious advantage for Alitalia, or Etihad, with this deal.

Air Malta: No joy if the new shareholders want more staff cuts

Corinthia Hotels to spend €80mn on Brussels Astoria

FlorianaJ Corinthia Hotels has bought the Hotel Astoria in Brussels.R This part-listed property has been vacant for 10 years, but will now be fully refurbished “as the city’s leading luxury hotel, branded the Corinthia Grand Hotel Astoria”.R Located in rue Royale, in the centre of the city, the hotel was built in 1909. The hotel purchase plus renovation is expected to cost €80mn.R The revamped hotel will com-

prise 121 rooms and suites, as well as extensive meetings, dining and spa facilities. It will reopen in 2019.R Corinthia chairman Alfred Pisani says: “We have earned an unpar-alleled reputation for restoring

buildings of historical value and turning them into luxury hotels. The Corinthia Grand Hotel Astoria will be no exception.R “We aim to make this hotel the best in Brussels – committing the same passion and attention to detail as we have done with our hotel redevelopments in London, Budapest, St Petersburg and other major cities”.R The Astoria’s façade and ground floor enjoy listed protection status, though the upper floors are cur-rently stripped down to brick work awaiting full reconstruction.R The property includes adjoin-ing land, where the hotel will be extended.

Arrivals from Nordic region, Spain expected to surge

MostaJ Market projections for this year show that the Nordic region – comprising Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden – and Spain are set to grow substantially.R In 2015 the Nordic region accounted for 117,449 arrivals, a growth of 8.1% over 2014. This year, based on Q1 results and main-taining the same rate of growth, Malta can expect an increase of 50.51% in arrivals from this region – or a total of 176,771Nordic vis-itors (see Projected market trends 2016 on page 11).R Another market set to ‘explode’ is Spain. Travel from the biggest country on the Iberian Peninsula is expected to double from 45,373 arrivals last year to 90,727 this year, a growth of 99.96%.R It’s the LCCs that fly from these countries that will boost visitor numbers.R France, one of the top five mar-kets for Malta is forecast to slip 7.34% this year, down to 118,613 arrivals from 2015’s 128,014.R Malta’s two principal markets, on the other hand, are expected to remain buoyant, with predicted growths of 12.44% for the UK and 10.80% for Italy in 2016.R Respectively, the UK is forecast to yield 591,524 visitors this year, whilst 320,219 Italian tourists are expected.

Astoria: Reopening in 2019

4

Visa restrictions to be lifted for Turks

MostaJ Malta can expect an influx of Turkish tourists from this summer, once the European Parliament ap-proves dropping visa requirements for Turkish nationals – a move the Maltese government opposes.R This will mean Turkey’s 75mn population will be able to travel freely to the Schengen zone.R The European Commission has already approved waiving visa requirements for Turkish nationals. Now it only remains for the parlia-ment to do so.R As part of the deal struck be-tween the EU and Turkey to curb illegal immigration to the union, Brussels agreed to grant visa-free travel to Turkish nationals by the end of June.R Under the terms of the accord, which came into force on 20 March, Turkey agreed to take back migrants and refugees who illegally crossed the Aegean Sea to Greece.R In exchange, the EU will resettle up to 72,000 Syrian refugees living in Turkey, pledged up to €6bn in aid in the next four years and to fast-track visa-free access for Turk-ish nationals to the Schengen zone by 30 June.R Meanwhile, according to Malta International Airport data, in the first four months of the year, 40,722 people travelled from Istanbul; in April alone, 10,685 flew the route – up 31.16% over the same month in 2015. Naturally, these figures include other nationalities besides Turks.

Outbound travel up 33%, expenditure rises 30% in Q1

VallettaJ In the first three months of the year an estimated 103,463 Mal-ta residents travelled abroad, an increase of 33.2% over the cor-responding quarter last year, the NSO reports (see Departures and socio-demographic profile of Malta residents 2016 on page 10).R In Q1 91,572 people travelled to EU countries, up 34.6 points over the same period in 2015.

R Italy and the United Kingdom remain the most popular destina-tions, with 36,174 people travelling to the former and 23,721 to the latter.R Total nights spent abroad rose by 21.2% to 661,562. The majority were spent in collective accommo-dation establishments.R In the first quarter Malta resi-dents spent €91.9mn abroad, an increase of 29.7% over Q1 of 2015; that is an average €888 per trip.

World tourism grows 4%, earns €1.25tn in 2015

MadridJ Income generated by interna-tional visitors on accommodation, food and drink, entertainment, shopping and other services and goods reached an estimated €1,110bn in 2015, an increase of 3.6%.R International tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) increased by 4.4% in 2015, reaching a total of 1,184mn.R Alongside international tourism receipts, international tourism gen-erated €187bn in exports through international non-resident passen-ger transport services, bringing the total value of tourism exports up to €1.25tn, or €3.57bn a day on average.R “Tourism is today a major category of international trade in services,” says UNWTO secretary general Taleb Rifai.R “Despite a weak and slow eco-nomic recovery, spending on international tourism grew signifi-cantly in 2015, proving the sector’s relevance in stimulating economic growth, boosting exports and cre-ating jobs for an increasing number of economies worldwide”, he adds.R International tourism represents 7% of total world exports and 30% of services exports.R The share of tourism in over-all exports of goods and services increased from 6% to 7% in 2015 as for the fourth consecutive year in-ternational tourism outgrew world merchandise trade, which grew 2.8% in 2015 according to recent data reported by the World Trade Organization.

R As a worldwide export category, tourism ranks third after fuels and chemicals and ahead of food and automotive products. In many de-veloping countries, tourism ranks as the first export sector.R Unusually strong exchange rate fluctuations in 2015 seriously influenced receipts for individual destinations and regions, expressed in current US dollars.R Taking into account exchange rate fluctuations and inflation, receipts in the Americas, Asia and the Pacific and the Middle East all grew by 4%, while in Europe they grew by 3% and in Africa by 2%.R The Americas continued to enjoy robust results both in international arrivals and receipts in 2015, with a strong US dollar fuelling outbound travel from the United States and benefiting many destinations across the region.R The Caribbean, Central America and South America all recorded 7% growth in receipts, while North America saw a 3% increase.R “As prices of raw materials have decreased, tourism has shown a strong capacity to compensate for weaker export revenue in many commodity and oil-exporting countries”, says Rifai.R “Tourism is increasingly an essential component of export diversification for many emerging economies as well as several ad-vanced ones”, he adds.

R The United States (€158.62bn), China (€101.59bn), Spain (€50.80bn) and France (€40.99bn) continue to be the top destinations both in international tourism re-ceipts and tourist arrivals.R China, the United States and the United Kingdom led outbound tourism last year, fuelled by their

China: Tourism spend up 25%

Continued on column 1, page 11

55

Data bank

Comments on tables

J All raw data in Data bank, and elsewhere in Island Travel Trader, are sourced from the Central Bank of Malta (CBM), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA), Malta International Airport (MIA), the Malta Stock Exchange (MSE), the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA), the Ministry for Finance and the National Statistics Office (NSO) - unless otherwise credited.J NSO data may differ for some months due to rounding, see Arrivals by gender.J All statistics are based on tourist arrivals; that is, they exclude cruise passengers that overnight in Malta, see Aggregate international arrivals.

International arrivals 2016

Market Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Totals % share Austria 2,333 3,814 1.36Belgium 1,932 4,527 1.61France 3,772 5,497 6,444 15,713 5.60Germany 7,895 7,729 11,346 26,969 9.62Ireland 2,571 5,493 1.96Italy 17,470 14,531 18,979 50,980 18.19Libya 176 651 0.23Netherlands 2,097 4,823 1.72Nordic region* 6,984 13,460 4.80Russia 832 2,774 0.99Spain 3,028 7,006 2.50Switzerland 1,340 3,201 1.14UK 23,241 26,800 36,993 87,034 31.05US 1,872 2,899 1.03Others 32,439 26,449 18,590 50,997 18.19 Totals 84,817 81,005 115,518 280,341 100.00 2015 74,280 74,516 101,771 151,922 177,204 183,764 206,627 246,485 192,550 196,692 113,042 72,569 1,791,422 Difference 10,537 6,489 13,747

* Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden

Aggregate international arrivals 2016

Arrivals Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Totals % share

Tourists 84,817 81,005 115,519 281,341 99.64Cruise pax overnighting 622 381 0 1,003 0.36 Totals 85,439 81,386 115,519 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 282,344 100.00 2015 74,280 74,516 101,771 153,564 177,896 187,616 207,542 248,284 194,189 199,937 115,105 72,568 1,807,268 Difference 11,159 6,870 13,748

Mode of travel 2016

Mode Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Totals % share

Air 82,214 78,338 112,143 272,695 96.93Sea 2,603 2,667 3,376 8,646 3.07 Totals 84,817 81,005 115,519 281,341 100.00

66

Data bank

Monthly arrivals comparison

Jan Feb Mar Apr Market 2015 2016 %+/- 2015 2016 %+/- 2015 2016 %+/- 2015 2016 %+/- Austria 1,305 1,962 2,333 18.91 3,332Belgium 1,167 1,915 1,932 0.91 3,843France 5,074 3,772 -25.66 4,983 5,497 10.31 6,908 6,444 -6.72 11,944Germany 7,456 7,895 5.89 7,120 7,729 8.55 10,037 11,346 13.04 14,920Ireland 1,782 1,902 2,571 35.19 3,189Italy 13,695 17,470 27.56 13,547 14,531 7.26 19,492 18,979 -2.63 23,755Libya 474 176 -62.87 766Netherlands 1,427 1,665 2,097 25.95 3,212Nordic region* 2,464 2,918 3,567 6,984 95.80 9,400Russia 543 832 53.27 982Spain 1,423 3,028 112.77 4,862Switzerland 1,422 1,774 1,340 -24.49 3,134UK 21,306 23,241 9.08 24,161 26,800 10.92 31,950 36,993 15.78 44,619US 1,203 1,371 1,872 36.56 1,616Others 15,979 32,439 103.01 21,787 26,449 21.40 16,788 18,590 10.74 22,348 Totals 74,280 84,817 14.19 74,516 81,005 8.71 101,771 115,518 13.51 151,922

* Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden

Seasonal arrivals pattern

Season 2015 2016 Winter Arrivals 334,407 165,822% 18.67 58.94(Jan, Feb, Nov, Dec) Shoulder Arrivals 811,353 115,519% 45.29 41.06(Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Oct) Summer Arrivals 645,662 % 36.04 (Jul, Aug, Sep) Totals 1,791,422 281,341 100.00 100.00

Arrivals by gender 2016

Official Females % Males % Calculated visitor females males visitor arrivals arrivals Jan 84,817 36,711 43.28 48,106 56.72 84,817Feb 81,005 37,158 45.87 43,847 54.13 81,005Mar 115,519 56,660 49.05 58,858 50.95 115,518Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Totals 281,341 130,529 150,811 281,340

Socio-demographicprofileoftravellers2016

By age Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Totals % share 0-24 9,592 11,076 18,721 39,389 14.0025-44 31,816 24,338 34,698 90,852 32.2945-64 29,498 30,604 40,586 100,688 35.7965+ 13,911 14,987 21,514 50,412 17.92 Totals 84,817 81,005 115,519 281,341 100.00

77

Data bank

Purpose of visit Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Totals % share Business 9,492 9,291 10,292 29,075 10.33Holiday 71,844 66,137 94,328 232,309 82.57Other 3,481 5,577 10,899 19,957 7.09 Totals 84,817 81,005 115,519 281,341 100.00 Type Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Totals % share FIT 51,040 45,894 62,214 159,148 56.57Package 33,777 35,111 53,304 122,192 43.43 Totals 84,817 81,005 115,518 281,340 100.00 Expenditure Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Totals FIT 20,059 17,537 24,458 62,054 of which Accommodation 9,813 8,922 11,980 30,715 Air/sea fares 10,247 8,616 12,478 31,341 Package 17,919 17,742 30,416 66,077 Other 27,283 22,558 31,382 81,223 Totals (€000s) 65,261 57,837 86,256 209,354 Length of stay Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Totals % share(nights)

1-3 19,624 21,140 24,257 65,021 23.114-6 24,189 22,236 36,672 83,097 29.547+ 41,004 37,630 54,589 133,223 47.35 Average LoS 7.70 7.20 6.90 7.27 100.00 Visit frequency Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec First visit 54,454 53,959 80,092 Repeat visit 30,363 27,046 35,427 of which Once a year 19,921 18,792 23,513 More than once a year 10,442 8,254 11,914

Socio-demographicprofileoftravellers2016(continued)

Accommodation occupancy and monthly comparison

Jan Feb Mar Apr 2015 2016 %+/- 2015 2016 %+/- 2015 2016 %+/- 2015 2016 %+/- Collective* 56,936 63,151 10.92 59,018 63,269 7.20 81,559 88,108 8.03 113,760 Private 17,345 21,666 24.91 15,498 17,736 14.44 20,211 27,411 35.62 38,164 Totals 74,281 84,817 14.18 74,516 81,005 8.71 101,770 115,519 13.51 151,924

* Hotels, tourist villages, guest houses, hostels, B&B and camp sites

88

Data bank

Guest nights and monthly comparison

Jan Feb Mar Apr 2015 2016 %+/- 2015 2016 %+/- 2015 2016 %+/- 2015 2016 %+/- Collective* 385,919 409,159 6.02 376,161 405,877 7.90 524,864 569,397 8.48 701,384 Private 216,591 247,401 14.22 153,179 175,517 14.58 199,359 233,313 17.03 317,428 Totals 602,510 656,560 8.97 529,340 581,394 9.83 724,223 802,710 10.84 1,018,812

* Hotels, tourist villages, guest houses, hostels, B&B and camp sites

MaltaInternationalAirporttraffic2016

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Totals

International pax Arrivals 119,169 121,273 169,452 213,432 623,326Departures 117,383 115,375 158,072 201,977 592,807 Totals 236,552 236,648 327,524 415,409 1,216,133 International aircraft movements Arrivals 970 876 1,172 1,546 4,564Departures 973 878 1,169 1,547 4,567 Totals 1,943 1,754 2,341 3,093 9,131 Cargo (tonnes) Import 726 685 785 818 3,014Export 334 323 456 361 1,474 Totals 1,060 1,008 1,241 1,179 4,488

MaltaInternationalAirportmonthlytrafficcomparison

Jan Feb Mar Apr 2015 2016 %+/- 2,015 2016 %+/- 2,015 2016 %+/- 2,015 2016 %+/- International pax Arrivals 104,941 119,169 13.56 106,882 121,273 13.46 141,405 169,452 19.83 201,908 213,432 5.71Departures 103,935 117,383 12.94 102,014 115,375 13.10 133,929 158,072 18.03 191,284 201,977 5.59 Totals 208,876 236,552 13.25 208,896 236,648 13.29 275,334 327,524 18.96 393,192 415,409 5.65 International aircraft movementsArrivals 915 970 6.01 844 876 3.79 1,038 1,172 12.91 1,527 1,546 1.24Departures 916 973 6.22 843 878 4.15 1,038 1,169 12.62 1,527 1,547 1.31 Totals 1,831 1,943 6.12 1,687 1,754 3.97 2,076 2,341 12.76 3,054 3,093 1.28 Cargo (tonnes) Import 611 726 18.82 660 685 3.79 643 785 22.08 661 818 23.75Export 406 334 -17.73 394 323 -18.02 502 456 -9.16 519 361 -30.44 Totals 1,017 1,060 4.23 1,054 1,008 -4.36 1,145 1,241 8.38 1,180 1,179 -0.08

99

Data bank

Malta International Airport passenger movements 2016Top 10 markets by month

Market Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Totals % share Austria 7,059 7,059 0.68Belgium 5,093 5,305 10,398 1.00Denmark 9,614 9,614 0.92France 9,826 10,940 14,132 30,211 65,109 6.23Germany 30,616 31,759 45,192 50,075 157,642 15.09Italy 58,494 58,560 72,843 83,914 273,811 26.20Netherlands 6,536 6,471 8,131 11,449 32,587 3.12Poland 5,145 7,892 14,990 28,027 2.68Spain 5,888 5,239 9,662 12,275 33,064 3.16Switzerland 4,651 7,002 11,775 23,428 2.24Turkey 9,411 8,350 12,276 10,685 40,722 3.90UAE 6,053 5,665 11,718 1.12UK 67,337 73,227 99,166 111,989 351,719 33.66

Cruiseshiptraffic2016

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Totals

Cruise ship calls 17 17 Pax traffic Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Totals % share Landed pax 205 205 0.52Transit pax 39,170 39,170 99.48 Totals 39,375 39,375 100.00 Nationality Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Totals % share Australia 424 424 1.08Canada 600 600 1.52France 4,346 4,346 11.04Germany 4,878 4,878 12.39Italy 6,884 6,884 17.48Japan 794 794 2.02Malta 72 72 0.18Spain 1,465 1,465 3.72UK 3,814 3,814 9.69US 3,277 3,277 8.32Others 12,821 12,821 32.56 Totals 39,375 39,375 100.00 Pax by gender Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Totals % share Females 21,002 21,002 53.34Males 18,373 18,373 46.66 Totals 39,375 39,375 100.00

Pax by age Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Totals % share 0-19 6,039 6,039 15.3420-39 6,331 6,331 16.0840-59 11,404 11,404 28.9660-79 14,021 14,021 35.6180+ 1,580 1,580 4.01 Totals 39,375 39,375 100.00

Quarterlycruisetrafficcomparisons–Q1

2015 2016 %+/- Cruise ship calls 9 17 88.89 Pax traffic 2015 2016 %+/-

Landed pax 71 205 188.73Transit pax 20,582 39,170 90.31 Totals 20,653 39,375 90.65 Nationality 2015 2016 %+/- Australia 189 424 124.34Canada 310 600 93.55France 2,783 4,346 56.16Germany 3,697 4,878 31.94Italy 5,091 6,884 35.22Japan 187 794 324.60Malta 1 72 7,100.00Spain 743 1,465 97.17UK 1,502 3,814 153.93US 561 3,277 484.14Others 5,589 12,821 129.40 Totals 20,653 39,375 90.65

Notes: Landed pax arrive in Malta on a cruise ship and leave the islands by other means. Transit pax are arrive and leave Malta on the same cruise ship

1010

Data bank

10

Data bank

Departures and socio-demographicprofileofMaltaresidents2016

Departures Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Totals Residents 103,463 103,463 Mode of travel Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Totals % share Air 97,399 97,399 94.14Sea 6,064 6,064 5.86 Totals 103,463 103,463 100.00 Gender Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Totals % share Females 44,284 44,284 42.80Males 59,179 59,179 57.20 Totals 103,463 103,463 100.00 Age Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Totals % share 0-24 19,462 19,462 18.8125-44 47,533 47,533 45.9445-64 29,977 29,977 28.9765+ 6,491 6,491 6.27 Totals 103,463 103,463 100.00 Purpose of visit Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Totals % share Business 18,225 18,225 17.61Holiday 55,168 55,168 53.32VFR 23,011 23,011 22.24Other 7,059 7,059 6.82 Totals 103,463 103,463 100.00 Type Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Totals % share FIT 91,057 91,057 88.01Package 12,406 12,406 11.99 Totals 103,463 103,463 100.00 Length of trip Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Totals % share(nights)

1-3 34,328 34,328 33.184-6 33,912 33,912 32.787+ 35,224 35,224 34.04 Average LoS 6.40 1.60 100.00 Expenditure Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Totals Per capita (€) 888 Total (€000s) 91,889 91,889

1111

Data bank

Projected market trends 2016

Market 2016 2016 2015 Jan-Dec† Jan-Mar % growth % share Jan Feb Mar Jan-Dec % growth % share UK 591,524 87,034 12.44 28.64 23,241 26,800 36,993 526,089 7.87 29.37Italy 320,219 50,980 10.80 15.50 17,470 14,531 18,979 289,019 10.05 16.13Nordic region* 176,771 13,460 50.51 8.56 117,449 8.10 6.56Germany 155,718 26,969 9.65 7.54 7,895 7,729 11,346 142,010 -0.73 7.93France 118,613 15,713 -7.34 5.74 3,772 5,497 6,444 128,014 1.99 7.15Spain 90,727 7,006 99.96 4.39 45,373 7.30 2.53Netherlands 48,793 4,823 11.39 2.36 43,806 -1.99 2.45Ireland 35,169 5,493 4.08 1.70 33,789 9.98 1.89Belgium 32,741 4,527 -4.56 1.59 34,304 9.25 1.91US 30,180 3,899 19.05 1.46 25,350 13.16 1.42Russia 27,757 2,774 37.80 1.34 20,142 -41.14 1.12Switzerland 27,111 3,201 -21.25 1.31 34,425 8.27 1.92Austria 24,958 3,814 -14.22 1.21 29,094 5.54 1.62Libya 1,885 651 -64.54 0.09 5,316 -82.72 0.30Others 383,132 50,997 20.77 18.55 32,439 26,449 18,590 317,242 19.09 17.71 Totals 2,065,299 281,341 12.70 100.00 84,817 81,005 115,518 1,791,422 1.91 100.00

Some data are Island Travel Trader calculations on NSO source data† Estimate based on YTD actual. * Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden

strong currencies and economies.R China continues to lead global outbound travel after double-digit growth in tourism expenditure every year since 2004, benefiting Asian destinations such as Japan and Thailand as well as the United States and various European desti-nations.R Spending by Chinese travellers increased 25% in 2015 to reach €260.2bn, as total outbound travel-lers rose 10% to 128 million.R Tourism expenditure from the world’s second largest source mar-ket, the United States, increased by 9% in 2015 to €106.93bn, while the number of outbound travellers grew by 8% to 73mn.R Expenditure from the United Kingdom, the fourth largest market globally, increased 8% to €56.14bn with 65mn of its residents travel-ling abroad, up 9%.R By contrast Germany, the world’s third largest market, report-ed a small decline in spending (€67.73bn), partly due to the weak-er euro.

China: global travel leader

Continued from page 4

R France’s expenditure on out-bound tourism reached €33.87bn, Russia’s €31.19bn and that of South Korea a total of €22.28bn.

Air Malta winspunctuality award

BrusselsJ Air Malta won the punctuality award 2015 for short haul airlines at the 9th edition of the Brussels Airport Aviation Awards.R The Maltese airline distinguished itself by achieving a punctuality record of 91.7% in 2015.R Commenting on this success Silvio Falzon, KM’s chief operations officer says: “We are really excited about this award. We have worked hard to improve our on time per-formance figures. R “Last year, over the whole net-work, we operated almost 15,000 flights of which 87.2% departed within 15 minutes of their sched-uled time of departure. This is an improvement of 0.7% over the same period the year before”.R Air Malta operates nine weekly flights to Brussels. The airport han-dles 23mn passengers every year.

Revamped British Hotel reopens

VallettaJ The British Hotel reopened last month after a major refurbishment of its public areas.R The two-star property partly closed in December 2014 for the renovation.R The reception has been totally redesigned, with the desk in a new location on the ground floor.R On the first floor, the restaurant has been completely remodelled and renamed – it is now, quite ap-propriately, the Panorama Restau-rant.R Decorated in a simple yet elegant grey and white motif, this is the

British Hotel: Panorama revisited

Continued on column 1, page 12

1212

Publisher and Editor: Terence Mirabelli. Email: tmirabelli@travelmalta.com. Group Advertisement Director: Josephine Mirabelli. Email: jomirabelli@travelmalta.comIsland Publications Limited, 36/38 Triq L-Isperanza, Mosta MST 1309, Malta. Tel: (+356) 21431864. Site: www.travelmalta.com.

Island Travel Trader is published 10 times a year and distributed in portable document format (pdf) by email on a controlled circulation basis to senior personnel of all airlines operating to and from Malta, the senior management of cruise lines whose ships call at Malta, foreign tour operators who programme the islands, all domestic travel agents in and those foreign-based who actively sell services to the islands, international and national conference and exhibition organisers, incentive and special interest travel companies, Malta-based hoteliers and car rental firms.

© Island Publications Ltd 2016. All rights reserved. No reproduction, copying, image scanning, storing or recording by any means in any form nor broadcasting or transmission through any medium of any part of this newsletter is permitted without the express consent of Island Publications Limited.

hotel’s only F&B outlet.R Once a favourite Valletta eating place – and not just because it has one of the finest views of Grand Harbour – the hotel’s management has hired a new chef and intro-duced a new menu in a bid to re-gain its spot as one of the capital’s finest restaurants.R A small wine bar has also been installed in this floor.R The second floor houses the Pan-orama Lounge and a new meetings room. The restyled lounge is also bigger, as the bar counter has been moved.R A newly wood-panelled room, across the hall from the bar, has been converted into a meetings room seating up to 25. It also has a small break-out area.R Also new and free throughout the hotel is WiFi.R The property’s 40 rooms, mean-time, have had soft furnishings replaced.R “The rooms are on the agenda for an upgrade soon, to complement the rest of the hotel”, says David Montebello, one of the directors of the British Hotel.R The British, opened in 1930, is the oldest family-run hotel in Malta.

Vella appointed ETC VP

ProtarasJ Leslie Vel-la (left) was appointed vice president of the European Travel Commission at the ETC’s 91st general meeting

in Cyprus, earlier this month.

Oldest family-run hotel

Continued from page 11

Photo credits. P1 - Alitalia. P2 - Etihad Airways. P3 - Col1, Air Malta. Col2, Corinthia Hotels. P4 - Julian Mompalao de Piro. P11 - British Hotel. P12 - Leslie Vella

R His appointment follows a mem-bers’ vote, after which Vella was elected from amongst three candi-dates for the post.R ETC vice presidents are appoint-ed for a three-year stint and each coordinates one of three advocacy roles. R Vella’s advocacy covers ‘con-nectivity’. This is a very relevant advocacy given that aviation makes a significant contribution to the global tourism industry with more than 52% of international tourists travelling by air.R Vella has been active in the ETC on behalf of the Malta Tourism Authority since 1993. He served as chairman of the commission’s market intelligence group for 17 years – from 1997 to 2014 – dur-ing which time the ETC joined forces with the UNWTO to pro-duce a wide range of market and product studies and best practice handbooks, that continue to be in popular use by industry practition-ers worldwide.R Vella is the MTA’s chief officer strategic development and the authority’s deputy CEO.

Alitalia chairman confirms Etihad paying for Air Malta

MostaJ Alitalia chairman Luca Corde-ro di Montezemolo unwittingly confirmed Etihad Airways will be funding the planned purchase of 49% of Air Malta (see The Air Mal-ta-Alitalia ‘deal’: More questions than answers on page 1).R Speaking at a showcase in Rome in mid-May, were new Alitalia uniforms were unveiled, Cordero di Montezemolo told reporters the price of buying into Air Malta “would not cost a euro”, presumably to Alitalia.

R “If it goes forward, it would be a zero-risk operation – sub-zero, indeed – for Alitalia”, he added.R “It is an investment that would not cost a euro, and would open up interesting connections with Sicily. Let’s work on it, let’s carry out a management and economic due diligence.R “We’ll be looking at it in the summer, maybe by end-June, and we’ll be able to take a decision”, Cordero di Montezemolo contin-ued.R Alitalia, which is 49% owned by Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways, is a loss-making airline but hopes to be profitable by 2017. Its focus is on restructuring and rebuilding the company.R Which leads Island Travel Trad-er to believe confirms the money to pay for the 49% of Air Malta will be coming from Abu Dhabi. Alitalia is simply the conduit.R Another possible scenario is for Etihad, via Alitalia, to pay off Air Malta’s debts in return for a stake in the airline.R Cordero di Montezemolo’s comments, meanwhile, sent Malta’s travel industry into a frenzy.R The Malta Hotels and Restaurant Association issued a press release questioning how the Maltese government had chosen Alitalia as the “preferred potential strategic partner” after its chairman’s crass remarks.R Others feared Air Malta would be converted into a feeder airline for Alitalia, servicing Sicily, south-ern Italy, Libya – one day – and the Maghreb.