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3 NEWS 07.01.2021 PAUL COCKS THE economic viability of many busi- nesses in 2021 will depend on how quickly Malta reaches herd immuni- ty in its COVID-19 vaccination pro- gramme, as this could give it a head start once tourism starts picking up again, Business Today has learned. Philip Fenech, deputy president of the Malta Chamber of SMEs, said that once other countries' vaccination ef- forts took hold, those citizens will be looking to travel to the safest destina- tions around them. "Because of our size, Malta could reach herd immunity quickly, this be- ing among the first safe destinations available," he said. "Failure to do so might see the beginning of the recov- ery for many businesses slip to next year if we don't manage to attract se- rious tourist numbers this year." Fenech said that the first thing peo- ple will do once the vaccination pro- grammes are widespread is to travel outside their countries. When that happens, Malta needs to be in a posi- tion to promote itself as a completely safe destination. In a press conference yesterday, Health Minister Chris Fearne once again said that the general non-vul- nerable population will not start re- ceiving the COVID-19 vaccine until the end of May, with herd immunity expected to be reached at the end of September. But that would mean that Malta will miss out on attracting tourists during the peak summer season, which could be disastrous for many operators in the industry, Fenech believes. "Admittedly, even if we reach herd immunity ahead of summer, we will still depend on other countries pushing their own vaccination pro- grammes quickly enough to allow for safe air travel," he acknowledged. Fenech also lamented the lack of in- dividual responsibility demonstrated once again over Christmas and New Year, leading possibly to a spike in the number of new cases registered. "It is imperative that we adhere to established protocols and that people realise that regulations will be in place for a long while, even once our coun- try starts accepting tourists again," he said. "Our main collective objective now should be to reach herd immu- nity and promote Malta as a safe destination before the summer season. Anything else is not an option for many business- es." Two to three years to recovery David Xuer- eb, president of the Cham- ber of Com- merce, was even more cautious when asked about his outlook for 2021. He said Malta's economy will not bounce back to pre-COVID lev- els for at least another two or three years, and only if businesses man- age to re-engineer themselves in the meantime. He told BusinessToday that while the COVID-19 vaccine will help to start bringing personal lives back onto a normal track, it will take much longer for business to return to "any sort of normal". Xuereb said that the vaccine will bring about some semblance of nor- mality, as countries start reopening their doors to mainstream inbound tourism once again. But he insists that the long-term longevity of many businesses – and the country's economy – de- pends on a successful re-engineering of ex- isting structures, methods and ide- ologies. "As a coun- try, we are al- ready late and should have started this last year," he said. "Other countries have already start- ed restructuring even while facing and fighting COV- ID-19 like us. For- tunately, because of our size, we can still get there fast- er than most." In July last year, the Chamber pro- posed the Business Re-engineering and Transformation Scheme to the Government, aimed at helping busi- nesses analyse their business models as they embark on a restructuring journey to understand how they can grow more efficient and future-proof. This re-engineering of businesses is a concept the Chamber has been ad- vocating for a number of years but it was only once COVID-19 brought the economy to a halt that its importance became clearer than ever. Swift herd immunity imperative to promote Malta as a safe destination Reaching herd immunity as quickly as possible will place Malta as a frontrunner in the upcoming race to aract tourists back... if Malta can match other countries' vaccination programmes Philip Fenech, deputy president, Malta CHamber of SMEs Bars and clubs will remain closed until 1 February under COVID-mitigating measures

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