Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/634260
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 31 JANUARY 2016 24 Opinion 2 015 has been an absolute record year for the tourism sector. Malta registered circa 1.8 million inbound tourists and, moreover, tourism expenditure last year is expected to have surpassed the €1.6 billion mark. As reported in the latest NSO statistics, tourist arrivals for January to November grew by 5.3% over the same period last year while tourist expenditure rose by an impressive 7.7%. This translated into an additional €113 million that were injected into our economy, when compared to 2014. These positive results clearly demonstrate that we are on the right track. However, to sustain these trends, we need to constantly keep our eyes on the ball, especially when it comes to improving the quality of our product on offer and raising quality standards. The importance of enhancing quality along the entire tourism value chain remains our important and primary objective. This is key to Malta's ongoing competitiveness in the tourism sector. A critical factor to success in tourism is undoubtedly the human resources aspect. Given its focus on hospitality, tourism depends, perhaps more than any other industry, on the quality of the personal interaction between the provider and the client, patron or guest. This puts an added onus on each employee, and employer alike, in the tourism sector. We are aware that having employees who are adequately qualified and trained – and satisfied with their job and working conditions – will go a long way towards strengthening the tourism industry's value chain. By its very nature, tourism is an equal opportunity employer, being a sector which provides employment opportunities not only for both genders, but also for a wide spectrum of age groups and educational levels, including young people and migrant workers. It also provides ample opportunities for part-time work which, from a positive perspective, enables individuals who cannot fulfil, or what to complement, full- time job obligations to join the workforce and generate income. On the other hand, we are aware that many working in the sector suffer from relatively low-income levels, an unfavourable work- life balance, and limited career opportunities. In the meantime, the use of unskilled labour is revealing a considerable skills gap. Despite the general improvement in the level of formal education on a national level, employment within the tourism sector remains characterised by relatively low levels of education when compared to other economic sectors. With increased competition and higher standards being the order of the day in international tourism, relying solely on practical experience in the hospitality sector is no longer an option. Malta's tourism competitiveness can only be sustained if growth is accompanied by a targeted development of our human resources. To this end, we have been identif ying, together with industry stakeholders, effective ways to secure measures in order to enhance the working conditions and the professional quality of tourism workers. Employment generation and remuneration rates will remain at the top of our agenda. However, we are also stressing on the 'softer' aspects, such as career development, entry qualifications and continuous personal development. My clear objective is to bridge the gap between simply being employed in tourism and the delivery of excellence in hospitality by those who believe that this sector offers them a potential long term professional career. The role of the Institute for Tourism Studies (ITS) will continue to be critical towards achieving these objectives and considerable work has been done on this front already. Here, my vision and direction are clear. I want the Institute to grow and develop further, both in terms of academic excellence and in the number of students who choose tourism as their career. I recently announced the setting up of a Committee tasked with identif ying existing skills gaps within the industry; gaps that can then be addressed through appropriate short and longer term measures. This exercise will help bring the Institute closer to the needs of the private sector. ITS courses are also made available to full-time employees who are seeking industry-related qualifications, while ITS accredited courses are also being organised within the Training Aid Framework allowing workers to re-skill or up-skill their capabilities. In a landmark development achieved in conjunction with the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, we have announced a sponsorship scheme which will guarantee private sector job placements for ITS students. All this has been topped up by the allocation of €56 million towards a new state of the art ITS campus at SmartCity to be ready by the end of 2018. We are duty-bound to ensure that these workers possess the motivation and tools necessary to deliver, and actually exceed the expectations of those who choose to visit our islands. On the other hand, the workforce within the industry is to feel that the success story of the industry translates into concrete economic benefits for them as well. I am confident that, together with the private sector, we can achieve all this. Together we will make a quality leap for the tourism industry. Edward Zammit-Lewis is Minister for Tourism Malta's tourism competitiveness can only be sustained if growth is accompanied by a targeted development of our human resources Tourism: Investing in our human capital +1/%*#ŏ10$+.%05 ŏŏ4,.!//%+*ŏ+"ŏ *0!.!/0ŏĨ ĩ +%(ŏ+1/%*#ŏ.+&!0/ *2%00%+*ŏ"+.ŏ0$!ŏ.+2%/%+*ŏ+"ŏ .+"!//%+*(ŏ!.2%!/ŏ5ŏ!.%0% !"ċčŏ ŏĥŏĀĀāŏĥĂĀāćċ $!ŏ+1/%*#ŏ10$+.%05ŏ%/ŏ%*ŏ0$!ŏ,.+!//ŏ+"ŏ /!00%*#ŏ1,ŏŏ+2!.*)!*0ŏ+3*! ŏ+),*5ŏ%*ŏ +. !.ŏ0+ŏ$* (!ŏ0$!ŏ ),(!)!*00%+*ŏ* ŏ *#!)!*0ŏ+"ŏ0$!ŏ"+.0$+)%*#ŏ+%(ŏ +1/%*#ŏ.+&!0/ċŏ +.ŏ0$%/ŏ,1.,+/!ŏ* ŏ+*ŏ!$("ŏ+"ŏ0$!ŏ "+.0$+)%*#ŏ*!3ŏ+),*5Čŏ0$!ŏ+1/%*#ŏ 10$+.%05ŏ%/ŏ%//1%*#ŏ*ŏ ŏ"+.ŏę!.%0%Ěŏ3$+ŏ 3+1( ŏ!ŏ%*0!.!/0! ŏ%*ŏ+û!.%*#ŏ0$!ŏ*!!//.5ŏ ,.+"!//%+*(ŏ/!.2%!/ŏ%*ŏ+**!0%+*ŏ3%0$ŏ0$!ŏ +2!ŏ)!*0%+*! ŏ+%(ŏ+1/%*#ŏ.+&!0/ċ 1)%//%+*/ŏ)1/0ŏ!ŏ !,+/%0! ŏ5ŏ Ċ0$ŏ!.1.5ŏĂĀāćŏ0ŏāĀċĀĀ)ŏċ +.ŏ)+.!ŏ%*"+.)0%+*ŏ,(!/!ŏ2%/%0ŏ 33 333ċ$+1/%*#10$+.%05ċ#+2ċ)0ċŏ Edward Zammit Lewis