Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/849592
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 16 JULY 2017 12 News MATTHEW VELLA MALTA has retained a top five spot in the European Travel Com- mission's trending destinations for peak summer months. As temperatures soar on the Mediterranean rock, the island finds itself in the company of Cy- prus but also Finland, Montenegro and Iceland as the European travel destination in most demand, ac- cording to the ETC's trends report for 2017. And it is clear that travellers wary of security concerns are opt- ing for 'safe' countries perceived to be off the hotspot map. "Early indicators point at an- other year of rapid growth for European tourism destinations… perceptions of safety and secu- rity across Europe will continue to drive displaced travel and is likely to slow the rate of expansion in the region," the ETC said in its trends report for 2017. Iceland is Europe's fastest growing travel destination of 2017 so far, marking a six-year streak that shows no sign of slowing. With a 56% spike in visits, the country is actually tak- ing measures to man- age capacity in the light of accommodation and local infrastructure con- straints. The Nordic nation has also hosted movies and shows like "Game of Thrones", "The Secret Life of Wal- ter Mitty", "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" and "Interstellar", and can boast unique natural surroundings unparalleled in the rest of Europe. But growth has continued in other destinations with outstanding results observed in Mon- tenegro (+25%) and island destinations, Malta (+23%) and Cyprus (+18%). Malta and Cyprus saw 2016 growth in double-digit territory and this momen- tum carried through into 2017. "For des- tinations with a high dependency on peak summer de- mand, growth outside this period is indicative of a welcome reduc- tion in seasonality," the ETC said. Many European destination countries experienced strong growth in tourism from Germany. Malta alone saw 60% growth in arrivals and 66.4% growth in over- nights in the first four months of 2017. The report also says that Finland has become especially interesting for Chinese travellers, with a siz- able number of arrivals from Chi- na this year. A similar trend is also seen for Estonia. Improved air connectivity is credited with helping Portugal, Serbia and Croatia boost their ar- rivals numbers, while Croatia and Bulgaria also saw a notable in- crease in visitors from the United Kingdom. YANNICK PACE DATA published this week by the National Statistics Office (NSO) shows Malta having made an in- vestment in the field of research and development of €71.5 million in 2015, the year of the latest avail- able data. The figure is equivalent to 0.77% of the country's gross domes- tic product (GDP) – the value of goods and services produced – but it is the fourth lowest in the EU. Investment has been going up since 2012, going from €59.7m to €71.5m in 2015, although at €11 million, it is hardly going to make a difference said Alex Felice, Cham- ber of Scientists president and an experienced researcher in Malta and the United States. "The national research invest- ment is minuscule compared to other countries even of compara- ble size and economy," Felice said. In fact, investment as a percent- age of GDP has been going down since 2012, from 0.87% to 0.77%, meaning investment grew less than the economy did. "It's meagre at best, and most of that does not fund materials and resources, but wages," said Edward Duca, an Innovation Communica- tion lecturer and editor of Think, the University of Malta's research magazine. According to the NSO, 54.9% of investment in 2015 went to wages, with 10.3% invested in new instru- ments and equipment. Malta's economy has depended on foreign direct investment for its success over the years but this isn't a future guarantee, and exposes the country to the "financial whim of others", Felice said. "Business innovation with high value-added developed from our own research would be the source of new economic sectors that can yield the good jobs of tomorrow." Similarly, Andre Xuereb, a senior lecturer in physics emphasised the need for a research-driven econo- my, arguing that Malta needed to shift from being a user of technol- ogy to a creator. He said policy- makers should not expect research to pay off in the short-term how- ever, insisting that its long-term nature should not relegate it to an economic "luxury". "It's often research for its own sake that leads to the most ground-breaking discoveries and the biggest rewards," said Xuereb. Sadly, this wasn't yet achiev- able, said Felice, since "successive Malta still laggard CALL FOR PROPOSALS CONCESSION FOR THE PROVISION OF CANTEEN SERVICES (Ref: PR01/2017) The Assistant Director Corporate Services of the Planning Authority notifies that: Sealed Proposals for the Concession for the Provision of Canteen Services are to be deposited in the Proposal Box at PA Foyer, St Francis Ravelin, Floriana by not later than 10:00hrs of Thursday 10 th August, 2017. An electronic copy of the Call for Proposals PR01/2017 can be downloaded free of charge from the Authority's website; (http://www.pa.org.mt/info-proposals). A site visit/clarification meeting will be held at the Planning Authority on Friday 21 st July, 2017 at 14:00hrs. Any requests for clarifications concerning this call for proposals should be addressed to the Assistant Director Corporate Services on email tenders@pa.org.mt, by not later than Wednesday 26 th July, 2017 before 23:45hrs. PLANNING AUTHORITY www.pa.org.mt "It's meagre at best, and most of that does not fund materials and resources, but wages" Edward Duca Malta's spending on research and development does not even exceed 0.8% of its GDP. Scientists say the island needs a more research- driven economy 'Safety' is key for travellers choosing European destinations Malta retains top five ranking in European Travel Commission's trending destinations in 2017 Top 10 fastest growing destinations in Europe 1. Iceland 2. Montenegro 3. Malta 4. Finland 5. Cyprus 6. Bulgaria 7. Portugal 8. Serbia 9. Croatia 10. Spain