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2 NEWS 22.10.2020 PAUL COCKS THE income loss generated by the ELT sector could have a grave impact on Malta's economy, a Deloitte study, published by e Federation of English Language Teaching Organisations Mal- ta (FELTOM), has found. Deloitte estimates net loss in econom- ic activity could reach €88 million. Gov- ernment revenue from the industry's economic activity could also potentially decrease by 66%. is is based on the VAT, income tax and NI generated by the industry. An analysis of the best- case scenario (a drop of 30% of students in arrivals) would mean that govern- ment generated revenue would drop to €15.2 million. "e ELT sector is crucial to the tour- ism sector and to the country's coffers. Sustained government aid is therefore of utmost importance for the sector. e industry will only start to recover once there are reduced health concerns and a substantial decrease in travel apprehen- sion. is could still be a long way away," FELTOM CEO James Perry said. Deloitte strongly recommends the wage supplement to be sustained at a decreasing scale until business volume returns to 70% of what it had been be- fore the Covid-19 pandemic. e wage supplement and fixed cost contribution support could range between €2m and €7.9m. It also recommends progressive sup- port aimed to assist operators incurring more than 40% loss in arrivals and a re-investment of €13.5m target gov- ernment revenue from the sector to stimulate accelerated recovery and over €100m of economic activity. Such stim- ulus could be through direct injection or also incentive schemes for the students themselves. Be they subsidised weeks of tuition when purchasing more than two weeks or even subsidised flights with the local carrier. FELTOM's report was this week pre- sented to the Tourism Minister during a high-level meeting as part of Govern- ment's pre-budget consultation exer- cise. An analysis of English Language Teaching Schools by Deloitte found that 1,378 jobs are on the line if the ELT industry is not sustained. e best-case scenario provided by Deloitte would still result in 643 people losing their jobs, unless government steps in. e ELT industry has always been a strong contributor to the Maltese econ- omy. Deloitte estimates that total annu- al expenditure by ELT students stood at approximately €145 million in 2019. at year, the ELT sector accounted for 8.6% of total tourist guest nights, with 3% of all tourists being ELT stu- dents. e ELT sector plays a key role in di- versifying the tourism sector and, giv- en that the industry indirectly employs hundreds of host families and provides business to accommodation and trans- port providers, supermarkets and res- taurants, the ripple effect on the econ- omy is a substantial one. Perry outlined how, as opposed to other tourism markets, this industry attracts people who would usually not travel to Malta. In fact, over half of ELT students (56%) were from non-EU/EEA countries in 2019. Although the highest number of stu- dents came from Italy (12% or 28,367 student weeks), this is followed by Co- lombia (9.1% or 21,688 student weeks) and Brazil (21,230 student weeks or 9%). e Covid-19 pandemic was an unprec- edented shock on the local economy in general, but especially on the ELT indus- try where between 5th and the 16th of last March, the number of cancellations by English language students increased from 4,000 to 20,000 – all in a span of two weeks. Cancellations kept increasing throughout the subsequent weeks. Whereas July of 2019 saw a total of 18,457 student weeks, this year's es- timate stood at 9.4% of that amount which translates to 1,740 student weeks. e study also looks at the financial impact of Covid-19 on the ELT sector. Business in 2020 plummeted by 80%. A decrease in industry revenue will also significantly impact accommoda- tion, transport, and activities providers which account for 43% of the total in- dustry variable costs. ELT loss in government net economic activity could potentially reach €88m – Deloitte study AS of yesterday, Bank of Valletta has reo- pened its Gżira and Marsa Branches. e branches were temporarily closed after third parties tested positive for COVID-19. e bank engaged an infection prevention control specialist to disinfect the branches and fol- lowing confirmation by the Health authorities the branches were yesterday safe to reopen for business. In the meantime, the bank yesterday closed the Żurrieq Branch until further notice, after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19. e branch will be thoroughly sanitised and will reopen once it is ascertained safe to do so for the safety and well-being of customers and staff. Health authorities will contact those in- dividuals who might have been exposed to the virus as part of their contact tracing protocol. e night safe facility of this branch will be unavailable until further notice. Bank of Valletta's Qormi and Żabbar branches remain closed due to COVID-19 cases, while the Ħamrun branch is offering limited services. Prior to visiting a BOV Branch, customers are encouraged to check whether their branch has been impacted on https://www.bov.com/ content/bov-branches-covid BOV reopens Gzira and Marsa branches, closes Zurrieq branch after COVID-19 case

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