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3 NEWS 8.7.2021 MALTA International Air- port welcomed 190,505 passengers in June, a drop of 73.6 per cent compared to June 2019, although an improvement over the traf- fic handled in the previous months. June brought the antici- pated reopening of tour- ism following months of restrictions introduced to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Last month's top drivers of passenger traffic were Italy, Germany, France, Po- land, and Spain, with the Spanish market making a comeback among MIA's five most popular destina- tions following the resump- tion of flights to Valencia and Seville in June. A travel sentiment survey conducted by the European Travel Commission in May 2021 revealed that sur- veyed Europeans who were planning to travel in sum- mer showed a preference for Southern European des- tinations including Spain, Italy, France, and Greece. While the United King- dom did not appear among the top five drivers of traffic, despite Malta's greenlisting towards the end of June, it moved up a place from May to rank sixth among the air- port's top markets. MIA processed 190,505 passengers in June, down 73.6% from 2019 FROM PAGE 1 Malta International Airport yester- day reported tourist arrivals in June stood at 190,505 passengers, a drop of 73.6 per cent compared to June 2019, although an improvement over the traffic handled in the previous months. "Before reopening, we had set our- selves a target, we were looking at reaching 60% of the 2019 arrivals, month for month," Zahra said. "We are not there yet but I am confident that, if the situation does not deteriorate in these vital markets, we still stand a sporting chance of reaching our target this year." He said that once the UK moved Mal- ta to its travel green list, bookings and arrivals from the UK made the end of June more positive for local operators. Italian arrivals were also starting to pick up, he said. As to reports of operators in the hos- pitality industry facing serious staff shortages, Zahra said this was an issue that operators all across Europe were having to deal with. "With the onset of COVID-19, many people employed in hospitality sought alternative employment after months of inactivity," he said. "Now that the industry is slowly reopening in many countries, many of those former em- ployees are choosing to remain at their new jobs and not move back to their previous positions." Zahra, explained that with many countries and operators to reopening at the same time, it would take some time before things went back to nor- mal. Additional costs Philip Fenech, deputy president of the Chamber of SMEs, agreed that staff shortage was a major headache for many in the industry, but said this was merely one of many hurdles in the way to profitability. He said that for the past few years now, it had become apparent that Maltese were shying away from work- ing in the hospitality industry, leaving employees having to employ foreign- ers to fill full-time and a casual posi- tions. "This is not about the Maltese not wanting to work as waiters, but about them not wanting to work late into the evening, on weekends or on pub- lic holidays," he said. "It is why there is now a serious shortage staff at all levels - from chefs and mixologists to kitchen hands and waiting staff." Fenech said that many workers had left Malta as COVID-19 forced the clo- sure of hotels, as well as the catering and entertainment industries. Some of those workers were now waiting for bet- ter conditions in their own countries before returning to their jobs in Mal- ta. Others lived in countries that were still on Malta's amber or red travel lists. "And with the situa- tion we find ourselves in, employers are in no position to guarantee full-time employment on a fixed con- tract to many workers," Fenech said. "That too is keeping foreigners away for the time being." He said it was ironic that, because of the current mitigating measures that remain in place affecting the indus- tries, many operators were actually in need of more staff than they em- ployed before COVID-19 hit. "With outlets not able to offer self-service or bar service, more staff are needed to cater to patrons, even though outlets have been forced to cut the number of covers because of social distancing regulations," Fenech said. Hotels, for example, cannot offer buffets and self-serve breakfasts and therefore need more staff to cater to guests. Bars, which at the moment can only serve sitting customers, need more staff to take and deliver orders. And other establishments need addi- tional staff to provide additional secu- rity inside the businesses and to man the doors to ensure that the number of patrons allowed inside does not ex- ceed regulations. Fenech said that the SMEs Cham- ber had even recommended to authorities that bars be al- lowed to serve custom- ers at the bar, if ade- quate perspex shields are installed. But this propsoal has thus far been shot down by the rele- vant authorities. "Operators now have to bear high- er costs, but at the same are limited in the earnings they can make because of the reduced seatring and patronage regulations," he said. "This is putting additional strain on business to remain profitable even as they see things improving with meas- ures being increasingly loosened and people returning to dining out, stay- ing at hotels and visiting places of en- tertainment." Operators incurring higher costs, while still adhering to restrictions Philip Fenech

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