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Malta Hotels & Restaurants Assocation
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Julian JaegerTaking MIA to New Heights
VO
L 2 N
o 32 Novem
ber 2010
Drink SYrAHThere is nothing nicer, during
the cold winter months, than
to tuck into a well cooked
roast, accompanied by a full
flavoured, soft, velvety red
wine.
Medina Syrah guarantees
you that satisfaction, time
after time. It is a red wine
to rely upon. It has bags of
ripe, concentrated fruit with a
vibrancy that is a reflection of
its youth and vitality.
delicata.com
Medina Syrah is made
using only the best Syrah
grapes all hand picked
from family run D.O.K.
approved vineyards. This
delicious, fruity wine is a
result of the finest Syrah
grapes, ripened under a
hot Maltese sun and then
painstakingly transformed
into wine, with lots of
tender loving care, by the
Delicata winemakers.
18746-Delicata Medina Syrah MHRA Ad.indd 1 06/10/2010 14:58
new
spap
er post
A q
uarterly review
of the h
ospitality in
du
stry VO
L 2 N
o 32 Novem
ber 2010
MHRA’s platinum partners
Time to invest in yourestablishment?
Hotels, restaurants and
for refurbishment and upgradingcan benefit from an interest rate subsidy on loans
licensed tourist accommodation
http://support.maltaenterprise.com/hospitality
of their establishment.
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Why should it take one of these ...
... to
make o
ne of
these
?
The humble paper napkin. With just one deft wipe of the mouth, its life is over. Yet its demise gives rise to deforestation, to greenhouse gases and to landfills everywhere. The same goes for its larger brother, the paper table cloth. But for those who specify a cloth napkin in their restau-rants, research generously assumes that, worn or soiled, its life is over after 100 washes. At Snowhite, we work on a 1,000+ washes per linen nap-kin. And then we recycle it. We can achieve this increase in life span because our 55 years of experience in this business has taught us that the right combination of treatments produce washing results that are not only hygienically correct but also retain the integrity of the fabric. By applying the correct physics and chemistry, we safe-guard our clients’ assets and extend the natural life cycle of their linen.
What’s more, Snowhite delivers on a washing process that does not compromise the company’s sustainability strategy or its quality standards. On that score, raw materials such as non-biodegradable plastics, eco-unfriendly detergents and perishable cotton linens are not part of our laundry list. On the contrary, we believe that our evolving sustainabil-ity strategy is benefiting – and will continue to benefit – our company, our 5-star customers and our community. For more on how we reduce, reuse and recycle our re-sources, call 2148 7000. Or visit the factory or www.snowhitelaundry.com
Issued by Bank of Valletta p.l.c., 58, Zachary Street, Valletta VLT 1130 - MaltaBO
V 2
4987
Bank of Valletta p.l.c. is licensed to conduct investment services business and to provide trustee services by the Malta Financial Services Authority.
BOV Personal Wealth Management
Successful investment in financial markets requires time and expertise. Discretionary Portfolio Management allows you to entrust the management of your wealth to a professional, experienced and competent team of experts.
letting the experts grow your wealth
Discretionary Portfolio Management
Trustee Services
Investment Advisory Service
www.bov.com [email protected] 2275 7575
Active TradingYour portfolio is not just monitored to assess risk but actively managed. Active management of your portfolio consists of frequent purchase and reselling of financial assets by your Portfolio Manager to take advantage of price changes and aim for growth.
Adapting to changeAs your financial requirements change over time, so may your financial personality. During our regular meetings we will reassess your specific financial targets in order to realign and rebalance your portfolio with your desired plans.
TransparencyOur comprehensive reporting system will ensure that you know exactly how your money is being managed while giving you the benefit of maximum transparency.
If you prefer to delegate completely the responsibility of monitoring your portfolio closely to a trusted professional, you should consider Discretionary Portfolio Management. A designated Portfolio Manager will take the time required to develop a deep understanding of your personal ambitions and preferences - be it financial security, to provide for the future of your children, early retirement or the desire to fulfil long-held ambitions. Although you will be providing a mandate to the Portfolio Manager to manage your portfolio in line with the agreed investment objectives and risk profile, you will be kept informed of any investment transactions executed under your portfolio.
A strategy customised to your needsOnce we have taken an accurate profile of your unique financial personality and appetite for risk, we will draw upon the collective wisdom of our dedicated research team and propose the portfolio strategy that aims to optimise your wealth while matching it to your investment profile – be it one of acceptable risk or a highly cautious one.
Balancing risk and rewardAs soon as your portfolio is set up, we will set a performance benchmark against international indices. We will hand pick best-of-breed investment instruments and then monitor performance, with the aim of achieving a balance between risk and reward.
Dedicating our time and expertise towards maximising your wealth
Gain freedom from the complicated management that your wealth requires. Discretionary Portfolio Management takes care of the complex challenge of deciding ‘when’ and ‘where’ to place your money.
27788 BOV MHRA dps.indd 1 9/28/10 9:02:50 AM
Issued by Bank of Valletta p.l.c., 58, Zachary Street, Valletta VLT 1130 - MaltaBO
V 2
4987
Bank of Valletta p.l.c. is licensed to conduct investment services business and to provide trustee services by the Malta Financial Services Authority.
BOV Personal Wealth Management
Successful investment in financial markets requires time and expertise. Discretionary Portfolio Management allows you to entrust the management of your wealth to a professional, experienced and competent team of experts.
letting the experts grow your wealth
Discretionary Portfolio Management
Trustee Services
Investment Advisory Service
www.bov.com [email protected] 2275 7575
Active TradingYour portfolio is not just monitored to assess risk but actively managed. Active management of your portfolio consists of frequent purchase and reselling of financial assets by your Portfolio Manager to take advantage of price changes and aim for growth.
Adapting to changeAs your financial requirements change over time, so may your financial personality. During our regular meetings we will reassess your specific financial targets in order to realign and rebalance your portfolio with your desired plans.
TransparencyOur comprehensive reporting system will ensure that you know exactly how your money is being managed while giving you the benefit of maximum transparency.
If you prefer to delegate completely the responsibility of monitoring your portfolio closely to a trusted professional, you should consider Discretionary Portfolio Management. A designated Portfolio Manager will take the time required to develop a deep understanding of your personal ambitions and preferences - be it financial security, to provide for the future of your children, early retirement or the desire to fulfil long-held ambitions. Although you will be providing a mandate to the Portfolio Manager to manage your portfolio in line with the agreed investment objectives and risk profile, you will be kept informed of any investment transactions executed under your portfolio.
A strategy customised to your needsOnce we have taken an accurate profile of your unique financial personality and appetite for risk, we will draw upon the collective wisdom of our dedicated research team and propose the portfolio strategy that aims to optimise your wealth while matching it to your investment profile – be it one of acceptable risk or a highly cautious one.
Balancing risk and rewardAs soon as your portfolio is set up, we will set a performance benchmark against international indices. We will hand pick best-of-breed investment instruments and then monitor performance, with the aim of achieving a balance between risk and reward.
Dedicating our time and expertise towards maximising your wealth
Gain freedom from the complicated management that your wealth requires. Discretionary Portfolio Management takes care of the complex challenge of deciding ‘when’ and ‘where’ to place your money.
27788 BOV MHRA dps.indd 1 9/28/10 9:02:50 AM
Interested about what is happening in the TourismIndustry?So are we
The BOV MHRA Hotel Survey by Deloitte
The hotel industry is facing challenging times. More than
ever, access to deep, current market intelligence is vital
for strategic decision making.
The BOV MHRA Hotel Survey by Deloitte
offers the latest information on hotel performance
and market trends.
Why participate?
• Understandthetrendsinthetourismand
hospitality industry.
• Obtainacopyofdetailedresults.
• Confidentiality-youareassuredofcomplete
dataconfidentiality.
Deloitte,
Deloitte Place,
Mriehel Bypass, Mriehel BKR 3000,
Malta.
Member of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
• SubscribetothedetailedBenchmarkingreports
that give you the opportunity to compare your
hotel’s performance against other hotels in the
sector.
• Additionalinformationfocusingontheregionalareas
within the Maltese islands as well as international
data pertaining to similar locations.
TheBOVMHRASurveybyDeloitterunsasanindustry initiativebyMHRA,sothereisnochargeforhotelsthattakepart.Allparticipantsare entitled to receive complimentary electronic copies of the report for the quarter they participate in. Benchmarking reports are alsoavailableonrequestatacharge.Toparticipateinthesurveypleasesend an email to [email protected].
Tel. 00356 2343 2000
Fax. 00356 2134 4443
E-mail: [email protected]
Fresh Danish MozzarellaMade from only the finest natural ingredients
Exclusively distributed by PJ Sutters (Marketing) Ltd. For trade enquiries please call 23988000
Closer to Nature™
Oceana RestaurantLaunches Lavish Sunday Buffet LunchHilton Malta recently launched a lavish buffet lunch menu at the Oceana Restaurant. The stylish yet informal ambience of the Oceana provides an oasis of tranquillity which makes it the perfect choice for a relaxing interlude with friends, or a family Sunday lunch. And for the compulsive workaholics who have an important business visitor over the weekend, what better way to enjoy a working lunch in style.
This year’s edition of the ever-popular Sunday lunch at the Hilton Malta offers a wide choice of dishes to suit all tastes. It features over 100 different items on the menu, 3 new live cooking stations: a pasta station offering over 400 combinations of pasta sauces, a Blue Elephant stir fry station and a pancake station, 70 different antipasti dishes, soup and baked pasta and a Carvery option. Main courses include 2 types of fish
dishes, 2 types of meat dishes, veg-etables and potatoes. There are 80 different dessert options, including a chocolate fountain, served with fresh fruit.
The value-for-money Sunday buffet lunch costs €33 per person and children over 12 pay half price (€16.50). Children up to 12 years of age eat free when accompanied by 2 adults, in keeping with the child-friendly Hilton philosophy. The Oceana restaurant also offers the customary Hilton Malta hospitality by offering free parking to Sunday Buffet Lunch patrons.
The new Sunday Buffet Lunch at Oceana was christened at a Press Lunch on Sunday 4th October. The Hilton Malta team hosted leading food and lifestyle journalists and editors from all leading newspapers, magazines and publications. Guests at the press launch were invited to
experience this new Sunday Buffet format in the unique setting of the restaurant, enjoying the panoramic seaview and lulled by mellow live music, to complete the pleasant Sunday chill-out atmosphere.
Like every other Sunday Buf-fet lunch customer, the press had the opportunity to savour the new menu. The succulent dishes were washed down with a hand-picked selection from the extensive Oceana wine cellar by the somme-lier for the occasion. The white was a Leopard’s Leap, Franschhoek, Chenin Blanc, while the red a Pinotage Shiraz, also courtesy of Leopard’s Leap, Franschhoek.
The Oceana at the Hilton Malta welcomes you to experience the new Sunday Buffet Lunch. Reservations are recommended. To book your table call 21 383 383.
IHIF Berlin ad ammended.indd 1 02/04/2009 15:54
11November 2010
Cover: Julian Jaeger. See page 37
Cover PhotograPhy: George Scintilla
Design: Defined Branding www.definedbranding.com
Mhra is a quarterly publication issued by Crest Limited on behalf of the Malta hotels & restaurants association Nr. 2, Gallina Street, Kappara San Gwann, SGN 4111, Malta. Tel: (00356) 21318133/4 Fax: (00356) 21336477 Email: [email protected] Web: www.mhra.org.mt
eDitor: George Schembri
Publisher: Victor Calleja
Production, Design and advertising Crest Limited, Circle Flats No. 8, Calleja Schembri Street, Msida, MSD 1741, Malta.Tel: 2010 3000, Fax: 2131 9984 E-mail: [email protected]: www.crest.com.mt
Contentsissue 32
November 2010
49 57 67Sp
onso
rs
The President and Council of the Malta Hotels & Restaurants Association, on behalf of the members, would like to thank the Sponsors for their support and commitment towards the MHRA. The long-term agreement reached with the sponsors has enabled the MHRA to take a more long-term perspective to its operations.
PLaTINUM SPONSOrS
COrPOraTE SPONSOrS
11 From the CEO
15 From the president
17 MHRA in the news
25 News bulletin
35 A new incentive for upgrading
37 Ensuring MIA soars
46 Restaurants’ corner
49 The Barracuda story
57 Rock on Rokna
64 Go wins prestigious award
67 Eagle K-wear where business is taken personally
75 CNBC world at Delicata
77 Island caterers takes on Goliath
78 Solar solutions for hotels
81 Let’s talk about values
87 Revamped MHRA website
88 Sensiq the intelligent guest portal
90 Studio 7
91 YES employability project
95 Regional development for sustainable tourism
104 Servgroup
106 Entertainment & culture venues
114 Suppliers’ directory
116 Advertisers’ list
A viable investment to stabilise your company’s energy costs today and into the future
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You can stabilise or even eliminate your energy costsIn this age of soaring prices, managing and containing your energy costs is of prime importance. By investing in solar thermal, photovoltaic and/or wind energy generation you can cut your bills dramatically. A typical installation can have a payback period of as little as 31/2 years.
Benefit from government fundingOccasionally Maltese companies enjoy important financial incentives to invest in alternative energy generation. Solar Solutions offers free professional advice and assistance on grant applications which can cover as much as 50% of the cost of your installation (depending on grant scheme). Call us for a no commitment consultation on what we can help you achieve.
Professional installation and experience By operating a professional team of installers, using only top quality branded equipment and offering 25years guarantee on photovoltaic performance, Solar Solutions ensures a seamless project management and maintenance service so that your investment generates excellent long term returns throughout its life.
Traditional energy is becoming more and more expensive.
Isn’t it time YOU started to SAVE on your company’s energy costs?
13November 2010
George SchembriChief Executive OfficerMHRA
Editorial from theCEO
Dear Members,
Without any doubt one of the major costs for the tourism indus-try is labour and this year we saw a substantial COLA contribution of €5.82 per week per employee. This was the highest ever in the last decade. A debate raged in the early months of this year over the mechanism on which the COLA is established. Whilst the social part-ners agreed that the mechanism had brought stability in industrial relations since it was introduced, the employers’ associations felt that, considering the crisis Malta faced in 2009, the COLA mecha-nism did not reflect the crisis situ-ation and the proposed contribu-tion was unsustainable considering the losses the industry was carry-ing after a disastrous 2009.
As it turned out, arrivals for this year improved as the year pro-gressed and its impact has not been as bad as it would have been had arrival figures not improved. The COLA for 2011 is being pegged at around €1.16 which should be welcomed with a sigh of relief by employers. This is now the lowest COLA contribution that we have had in the last decade.
Of course this should not make operators complacent towards
labour costs since these remain a major burden for the sector and every attempt should be made to keep them in check. Reducing one’s labour force would perhaps looks like the most economical so-lution. However, one must always look to the long rather than the short term. Reducing one’s labour force might not give an operator the right capacity to meet demand peaks and therefore one must first look at increasing efficiency in one’s operation.
The coming lean winter months are ideal to take stock of operational activities and to streamline for more efficiency. Involve your staff in this process and prompt for short- and long-term solutions to set a plan for improvement. Identify with them training needs that will help in increasing efficiency and set a time-frame within which such training should be carried out so that your operation is ready when occupancy starts picking up again. There are several EU-funded train-ing programmes on offer through the Employment Training Cor-poration. The most appealing are the Training Aid Framework and the Employment Aid programme.
Full Information is available on the ETC website www.etc.gov.mt. The Malta Tourism Author-ity has also recently launched ‘ADVANCE’, which is a nation-wide training programme for employees and managers working in the tourism industry under the auspices of the Malta Tourism Authority. The programme, for which 3 million euro has been allocated, is being fully funded by the European Social Fund and the government of Malta. The courses are being offered absolutely free of charge. Further information can be obtained on the website www.advance.com.mt.
Operators should grasp such opportunities to increase efficiency within their operations and thus indirectly contribute towards reducing costs and improving ser-vice, which should translate into better revenues.
www.excelsior.com.mt
t’s a feast for all the senses at the Grand Hotel Excelsior! We have thought of your
each and every need – so just sit back and let us take the strain. Whether a romantic getaway for two, a sta� party or a family get-together, we know we have what it takes to ensure a memorable experience for you and your loved ones.
After all, Christmas is a time for giving & this is our gift to you! Call us now on 21 250 520 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for more information on how to Live the Grand Life this festive season!
Christmas the Excelsior way!
www.excelsior.com.mt
t’s a feast for all the senses at the Grand Hotel Excelsior! We have thought of your
each and every need – so just sit back and let us take the strain. Whether a romantic getaway for two, a sta� party or a family get-together, we know we have what it takes to ensure a memorable experience for you and your loved ones.
After all, Christmas is a time for giving & this is our gift to you! Call us now on 21 250 520 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for more information on how to Live the Grand Life this festive season!
Christmas the Excelsior way!
Providing product quality and value to food service professionals
40/41, Marina Street, Pieta PTA 9046, Malta. Tel: (+356) 21 243 440 / 21 23 3331. Fax: (+356) 21 241 793
Email: [email protected]
Durable and comfortable Jackets
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17November 2010
George MicallefPresidentMHRA
From the PresidentDear Members,
At a time when we were regain-ing confidence in the recovery in tourism, boosted by a trend of steady increases in tourist arriv-als, we are facing new threats. On the forefront is the uncertainty of seat capacity for next year, linked with the ongoing developments of a strategic stakeholder of the industry, Airmalta. The recent decision taken by Airmalta to drop 11 weekly flights from the UK next summer can be consid-ered our first hit. This decision, together with the effects of the austerity measures announced in the UK, which to us repre-sents the most important source market, present a huge challenge. Similar concerns also apply to other important source markets, such as Italy and Spain. As if this was not enough, we have now been slapped with an increase on VAT on accommodation as of 1st January 2011. This unexpected increase in VAT, will, without any doubt, further exacerbate the problems of profitability and competitivity, particularly on the UK front.
The increase in the VAT rate came like a bolt from the blue, and it was the very last thing we expected after having com-municated with government our concerns about rising costs and the resultant sharp decline in profitability. This VAT increase is nothing less than a govern-ment tax on our accommodation revenue, which we will have to make good for ourselves to a very large degree, as it is not as simple as topping up our rates by 2%, as some imply. Those who think so fail to understand that
the tour operators, and indeed customers out there, probably don’t even know what the VAT rate on accommodation is, as it is of no interest to them since our rates are quoted including VAT. As always, we make every effort to push the rates up to a point the market conditions allow, as it is the market that dictates the level of prices and not the destination. If we do not realize this, then we are undermining our competitiv-ity. Ultimately, whatever the VAT rate is, this will mainly have to be paid by hoteliers, as we cannot just simply pass it onto our cus-tomers, given that the market is still extremely price sensitive.
As already expressed publicly, MHRA was shocked to learn of this VAT increase only just three days before the budget, and although MHRA did carry out in-tensive talks within the three-day notice given in an effort to reverse this decision, the time was not sufficient to come to any form of agreement with government. As everyone in the industry is aware, the ongoing talks with government were always about the introduction of a bed tax, or rather a charge on tourists, which was to be collected directly from visitors whilst in Malta, and not VAT, which is an entirely different matter.
The government has declared that the VAT increase is hereto stay, and at the time of writing this piece, MHRA was waiting to hear from the Ministry of Finance regarding the one-off transi-tion measure that was agreed on following discussions held with MHRA, but the workings of this measure are still unclear.
What is clear is that the year ahead of us is indeed a very chal-
lenging year for the tourism in-dustry, particularly for Malta. The first step would need to be that of securing the future of Airmalta. MHRA believes that, given good will from all sides, this can be managed with the least possible harm to those concerned and the industry at large. Without these changes, the future of Airmalta and Malta’s tourism industry can only be described as difficult, at best. MHRA augurs that the necessary decisions are taken in the shortest possible time to elimi-nate the doubts and anxiety of the airline employees and all those di-rectly involved, and the uncertainty which is felt in the marketplace. In the meantime, MHRA pledges its support for the change process.
In the meantime the budget allocated for tourism next year is of €35 million, which is exactly at par to the sum of money spent this year. This means that the same amount of money will need
Continues on page 32
02134 General Ad Layout v4.indd 1 25/08/2010 09:17
19November 2010
July 2010
Meeting with Paragon Europe to Revise the Project Malta4Less Project 3-Star Hotels
MHRA CEO Mr George Schem-bri, 3-star Hotel Committee Chair-man and MHRA Membership Officer Mr Vincent Lungaro Mifsud met Dr Nadia Theuma to revise the project MALTA4LESS which had been submitted in October 2009 but had not been successful due to mi-nor deficiencies in the application. It was agreed to revise the various actions envisaged in the project and also revise the budget submitted. It is planned that the project will be submitted when the October 2010 call is issued.
Meeting with Malta Qualifications Council CEO Dr James Calleja
MHRA CEO MR George Schem-bri and Membership Officer Mr Vincent Lungaro Mifsud met Dr James Calleja to explore the pos-sibility of giving a ‘certificate of competence’ to those who eventu-ally take part in the MHRA EU-funded project ‘Culture Awareness for Frontliners’ project. The project will see over 400 employees in the hospitality industry taken to visit heritage sites and places of major interest that a tourist can be recommended to visit by frontliners in the industry. Dr James Calleja confirmed that the MQC would be able to give a Level One certificate if the contact hours of the partici-pants reach 50hours. It was agreed to look into this and see whether this would be possible.
Walkabout in Marsascala with Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism and Culture Dr Mario DeMarco
A walk was organised by MHRA to take Dr Mario Demarco and MTA CEO Mr Josef Formosa Gauci on a tour of Marsascala to explore areas that can be upgraded in the area. The walkabout started at Triq San Guzepp along the seaside where it was observed that such a picturesque walkway ought to better developed and embellished. It was agreed that one possibility was the proper paving of the area with modern tiling. The group then proceeded to stroll along the Triq Ix- Xatt promenade. The main observation in the area was the pos-sibility of narrowing the pavement by about 100 to 150 cms on the sea side of the promenade, permit-ting the road to be moved and thus widening the pavement on the op-posite side to create more space for outdoor dining. The next stop was at the Tal-Maghluq waterway. The bad state of this area is evident and due to bad circulation the water has become stagnant. Once developed and restored, this area has great potential to become a major attrac-tion in Marsascala. For this purpose it was agreed that MHRA will liaise with the MOT to hold a meet-ing together with Dr. De Marco, the Mayor and other competent
authorities in order to work out an eventual plan of restoration works to be completed in good time before the start of the 2011 summer season. The group then proceeded to the Torri San Tumas area where the former Jerma Palace Hotel lies. The hotel is in a derelict state and has become an eyesore and a dangerous area. George Micallef observed that once the appropri-ate legal framework is approved MEPA will have the power to pull the place down. The last area to be visited was Bajja San Tumas. This is a pretty spot, partly spoilt by the shabby summer houses/shacks built unchecked in the area as well as the unkempt surrounding land, most privately owned. It was observed that the construction / extension of the boat jetty were having a harm-ful effect on the preservation of the small beach. Dr DeMarco suggested that the extension be removed to allow the natural watercourse of the area replenish the sand on this beach. It was also agreed to look into the possibility of having the Local Councils of Marsascala, Marsaxlokk and Birzebbuga work together to promote the three areas as a cluster of the three fishing vil-lages in southern Malta.
MHRA in the news
20 November 2010
MHRA Meets the Project Coordinators of the MTA ‘ADVANCE’ Project
MHRA CEO Mr George Schembri met Mr Adrian Mifsud and Sarah Faith Azzopardi to explore how to best create the necessary awareness of the presentation being delivered on the 3rd August for the hospital-ity sector. The ADVANCE training programme for tourism leaders was launched by the Malta Tourism Authority on the 30th June at the Excelsior Hotel. The programme is a 3 million euro project that is fully funded by the European Union and Government through the European Social Fund. The main focus of the project is to engage senior and middle managers in the tourism and hospitality sector in Malta and Gozo, in the exchange of best prac-tices in management through the assistance of foreign experts in the area of management. Full informa-tion is available on our website at www.advance.com.mt
MHRA Attends Two-day Seminar Town Planning Management
A two-day seminar on Town Planning Management was held in Gozo. This was part of an ongoing project in Town Planning Man-agement being led by the Malta Tourism Authority. Mr Simon Quinn from ATCM facilitated the meeting. A model action plan was drawn at the end for the three pilot areas identified under this project.
MCESD Work Group Meeting on Family Friendly Measures
Constituted bodies within Working Group 3 met to discuss what chang-es can be introduced to improve the concepts of family-friendly measures. The basis for the discus-sion were the measures already
applicable in the public sector. The measures covered were mainly paid and unpaid leave for family reasons and work/family balance policies.
Meeting Mellieha Mayor
MHRA facilitated a meeting during which Mr Twanny Curmi made a small donation to the Local Council to make up for the vandalism per-petrated on furniture in the area of Ghadira bay reserved for barbeques. During the brief meeting several issues were also discussed touching on the operations on Ghadira bay in respect of lido operators and kiosks. Mayor Robert Cutajar reaffirmed his commitment to obtain Blue Flag status for Ghadira Bay but this needed all stakeholders in the area to work within parameters of good quality standards. He also indicated that he was putting forward to all commercial entities in the Mellieha town centre a proposal to turn High Street into one-way traffic and d eventually to pedestrianise it too.
September 2010
MHRA at GWU Conference at Dolmen Hotel
MHRA CEO Mr George Schem-bri was invited to sit on a panel to give the MHRA perspective on the social dialogue to ensure responsible management of seasonal migration workers in the tourism sector. The conference, held at the Dolmen Hotel in Qawra, was organised by the General Workers’ Union with the support of the European Con-federation of Trade unions. Several foreign guest speakers and a number of union members from European countries attended the conference. The main discussion centred round illegal work, equal pay for equal work, lack of work/family balance, lack of training opportunities and identifying opportunities to increase female participation.
Q2 BOV-MHRA Survey Presented at Corinthia Palace
The results presented for period May to June 2010 reaffirmed that the recovery in tourism was gain-ing momentum and all key tour-ism performance indicators were positive. The decisive decisions taken earlier in the year by the authorities to invest further in the tourism sector by increasing seat capacity opportunities and more focused marketing were reaping results. Tourist arrivals improved by 12.6%, guest nights were up by 10.5% and tourist spend was also up by 10.6%. The survey results showed that in Quarter 3 occu-pancy levels improved across all 3 hotel categories with the best improvements being registered by the 3- and 5-star establishments. Notwithstanding the significant progress registered, it was only the 5-star category which managed to exceed 2008 occupancy levels. All 3 hotel categories showed improved Average Achieved Room Rates for both the quarter and on a year-to-date basis. As regards revenue, albeit better than the previous year, it was still not sufficient to make good for the losses incurred by the sector in 2009. The sharp increase in operating costs in 2010 was eroding all gains and was threaten-ing Malta’s competitiveness as a value-for-money destination. Hotel gross operating profit up to June 2010 remained 25% below the average levels of 2006-08 and up to 45% lower than the best year results. Such declining results in profitability would make it increas-ingly difficult for hoteliers to find
22 November 2010
disposable capital badly needed for re-investment. In his closing ad-dress MHRA President Mr George Micallef highlighted that one needed to see how the sector can sustain the numbers registered so far and how these can be improved in order to secure a healthy oc-cupancy during the winter season. The industry was concerned about the economic scenario and auster-ity measures affecting major source markets, in particular the UK. He argued that the months ahead will be crucial to all stakeholders in the industry since difficult decisions will have to be taken to retain the momentum of growth in arrivals and called for a sensible approach by all concerned to overcome the challenging time ahead for Malta and Gozo.
MHRA Meets Members re Thomas Cook 5% Deduction
Following the Q2 BOV-MHRA Hotel Survey results Mr Micallef addressed those members who featured in this summer’s Thomas Cook programme, regarding Thomas Cook’s unilateral decision to deduct 5% from sums owing to hoteliers. Thomas Cook repre-sentatives had informed hoteliers that the company had decided to deduct 5% off invoices since the operator claimed to have had a bad season. Mr Micallef outlined the actions taken to date by MHRA and he asked members what line MHRA was to take on their behalf. Some members indicated that al-though they operate with Thomas Cook they had not been contacted
and informed of such a deduction. It was agreed that each member obtains further clarification on the issue and a decision will be taken at a later stage when the situation is clearer. Mr Micallef indicated that MHRA had already made it pub-licly clear in both local and foreign media that such action by Thomas Cook was unethical and unaccept-able without prior proper consulta-tion with those concerned.
Dr Jason Azzopardi Requests Meeting with MHRA Restaurants Committee
Dr Azzopardi informed MHRA members present for the meeting that Government had drawn up a Master Plan for Marsaxlokk to upgrade the area, especially along the promenade of the fishing vil-lage. Now that the first phase of the embellishment was complete the second phase was to start in early October to re-pave the square op-posite the parish church and pave the promenade extending towards the car park. Government was also considering pedestrianising the promenade and, in order to facilitate the traffic management in the area, government needed to expropriate a piece of land two streets above the promenade at a cost of €300,000. He indicated that he had met GRTU and these had indicated that they were willing to ask their members in the area to support this initiative with a financial contribution on their part. He asked MHRA to seek similar arrangements with its mem-bers as those of the GRTU.
MHRA & MBB meet Fondazjoni Ulied Qormi
MHRA CEO MR George Schem-bri and MBB CEO Mr Joe Tanti met Fondazjoni Ulied Qormi led by the chairman, Mr Carmelo Debono, Mrs. Marie Louise Coleiro Preca in the capacity of CEO, George Az-zopardi executive Secretary and Lisa Cassar, Dave Shaw, Stanley Cauchi, Joe Borg as members on the com-mittee. During the meeting a pro-gramme of activities was formulated to showcase Qormi’s social organi-sation to the guest speakers being invited by MHRA & MBB for the joint seminar held on the morning of Friday 8th October to address ‘Regional Development towards a Sustainable Tourism Sector.
The purpose of the activities was to establish a link between Malta and Portugal through the association of Qormi with Grandmaster Pinto de Fonseca. Amongst the guests invited for the conference was Mr Francisco Calheiros who, besides being President of LAG Vale da Lima and President of TURIHAB – Association of Manor Houses in Portugal, is also a Knight of the Order of St John.
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Following the meeting held with Parliamentary Secretary Dr Jason Azzopardi on Marsaxlokk, MHRA called a meeting of its members in the area and updated them with the proposal put forward by Dr Azzopardi. It was explained to them that the sum of €350,000 was required by Government in order to finance the expropriation
of property needed to implement the pedestrianisation of Triq Is-Sajjeda in Marsaxlokk. Members were informed that the GRTU had informed Dr Azzopardi that their members were ready to raise the sum between them since they were in favour of the total pedestrianisa-tion of the promenade. However those present immediately indi-cated that they were definitely not ready to support such a proposal and the GRTU had never spoken to them on the subject. Operators were surprised that after com-
pletimg the road, goverment now wanted to turn this into a pedes-trian zone! Members were not in favour of pedestrianisation of the area since they fear a drop in busi-ness considering that their main source of business is locals. How-ever they were prepared to have an outline brief of the master plan for the area to give their input. It was agreed that a letter should be sent to Dr Azzopardi asking for the brief and a subsequent meeting held to discuss the brief.
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27
BulletinNews
November 2010
Conference Organisers Treated to a U2 Concert
Top decision-makers from twenty-five German MICE agencies were invited to a U2 concert held in Frankfurt earlier this year. This event was organised by InterCon-tinental Malta and Alliance Group Malta with the support of Airmalta, MTA and TCC, Germany. Prior to the concert, destination Malta and InterContinental Malta were present-ed to the conference organisers at a workshop held at InterContinental Frankfurt. Clients were later treated to an overnight stay at the hotel.
“InterContinental Malta feels that only through innovative initia-tives like these can one raise the profile of destination Malta” said Christopher Gingell Littlejohn, InterContinental Malta’s Director of Sales and Marketing.
Peter Cauchi, Director, Alliance Group, added: “Malta continues to be an interesting destination for the German MICE market, which is still a major player in this crucial niche.”
An Excellent Lunch
The new Sunday Lunch Season at the Grand Hotel Excelsior kicked off with gusto and all those going for a Sunday buffet are in for a real treat. This is an opportunity for diners to feast on a never-ending exploration of the world’s finest cuisines to include Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Asian and a lavish spread of desserts and cheeses. Stunning Harbour views complete this unique dining experience. Advance bookings are recommended. Call the Excelsior now on 21250520 or email [email protected].
Corinthia Set to be One of London’s Finest
A few months ago Corinthia Ho-tels released further details of the five-star luxury hotel it is building in central London, which is due to open in early 2011. It will become the world’s ninth Corinthia hotel.
Corinthia Hotel London is being built within an imposing Victorian
building, on a city block location between Whitehall Place, Northum-berland Avenue and Great Scotland Yard, overlooking Trafalgar Square and the River Thames.
The Corinthia’s individual bed-rooms, averaging 45m2 in size, are amongst the largest in their category in London’s luxury hotel market. Some of the world’s top designers and architects are behind the project. The interior design is led by GA De-sign International, which is also cre-ating the hotel’s 2,140m2 ESPA spa (set to be the first of its kind – laid out over four levels, with pioneering design and treatment offerings), as well as the suites, public spaces and one of the two restaurants. World-renowned luxury interior designer, David Collins is creating the hotel’s bar, Bassoon, and specialty restau-rant. The interior design will aim to deliver a mix of sophisticated luxury and ‘residential’ style: a home-like approach that maintains an uncom-promising standard for hospitality and service.
Alfred Pisani, Chairman and founder of the Corinthia Hotel Group said, “Once again, the eyes of worldwide travellers are turning towards the business and cultural attractions of London. Whether to regular visitors, or first-time tourists from the newly emerging economies, London never loses its appeal. I am dedicating myself, personally and with great passion, to delivering to
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November 2010
London a five-star, luxury hotel, which will be amongst the best-of-the-best in the world. Corinthia Hotel London will be a true grand hotel for the 21st century.”
And Corinthia Group chairman Alfred Pisani’s very public ambition for the chain’s London flagship to be among the capital’s best hotels was given another nod of approval by the UK press. Matthew Good-man, writing in London’s The Sun-day Times, hailed the Corinthia flag-ship as the “new kid on the block” able to present some competition to the Savoy which is due to reopen in December this year after an exten-sive refurbishment programme.
“The re-opening is one of the most hotly anticipated events in the industry, and will fire the starting gun on a remarkable phase in the development of the capital’s luxury hotel scene,” Goodman wrote. “A host of new upmarket hotels are set to appear in London over the next two years in what will herald a fierce battle among the five-star players to attract the jet-set.”
Corinthia Hotel London will be in stunning company: Goodman listed a string of hotels involved in the city’s simmering luxury property war, including the Four Seasons on Park Lane which re-opens in December following a £100 million, two-year rebuild. Next year sees the inaugura-tion of 45 Park Lane, a hotel operated by the owners of the nearby Dorches-ter, and a new W hotel opens on Leicester Square. Meanwhile, a Bulgari hotel is planned in Knights-bridge and Asian brand Shangri-La is earmarked to be housed in the new Shard skyscraper with its own offering. Claridge’s and the Berkeley have announced plans to expand and the Waldorf Astoria opens a new property in West London soon.
In an interview he gave to Good-man in London last month, Mr Pisani said the threat posed by the Savoy, in particular, did not worry him. “Being in London, you’re going to have a very privileged situation. It’s one of the top capitals in the world. It has a terrific attraction. The €300 million investment by Interna-tional Hotel Investments, Corinthia Group’s hotel development arm, consists of the reconstruction of the landmark former Metropole hotel – a 19th century property on Northumberland Avenue – and the adjoining 10 Whitehall Place.
Saga Travel Group Renews Coastline Partnership
Saga Travel Group and Island Hotels Group Holdings plc have extended their relationship at the Coastline Hotel in Salina Bay for a further three years.The agreement comes after two “successful years” of operation, the hotel group said.It will see Saga Travel Group main-tain its commitment to use the ho-tel until October 2013, throughout the shoulder and winter months between September and June.The Coastline Hotel has, over the last two years, earned an exceptional reputation among Saga’s guests who have rated it among the top of all the properties which Saga Holidays features. The hotel has one of the highest repeat guest and referral ratings within the interna-tional Saga programme and the level of service delivered to Saga guests over the past two years was instrumental in the extension of this agreement.
Celebrate Service Week at InterContinental
InterContinental Hotels Group in over 4,300 hotels across nearly 100 countries held a Celebrate Service Week. It was no different for the team at InterContinental Malta, where a number of activities were organised for this Celebrate Service Week, aimed at thanking all members of staff for their dedicated service and hard work.
Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism Dr. Mario DeMarco was invited to the final event where a luncheon was held at the hotel’s Harruba Restaurant and employees were served by the management team. Dr. DeMarco spoke about the impact that tourism has on the island’s economy. He empha-sised that the high level of service provided by hotel staff in Malta contributes towards the successful growth of this industry.
This activity was complemented by several other initiatives carried out during the week, where staff were offered day trips to Comino, back massages at the InterConti-nental Beauty Studio, a bowling tournament at Eden Superbowl and motivational talks by well-known Maltese personalities including Xandru Grech and Birkirkara FC coach Paul Zammit.
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30
BulletinNews
November 2010
New Appointments at Island Caterers
Raphael Cauchi, Ernest Barry and Kenneth Abela have recently been appointed to the Board of Directors of Island Caterers ltd. Mr. Cauchi, Mr. Barry and Mr. Abela are all senior executives within Island Hotels Group Holdings plc. In their individual roles Raphael and Ernest are General Manager at the Radisson Blu Resort & Spa, Golden Sands, and the Radisson Blu Resort, St. Julian’s, respectively, while Ken-neth is the Chief Financial Officer of the Group.
Ernest Barry has over the last twenty years held a number of po-sitions within Island Hotels Group, including the post of General Man-ager of the Coastline Hotel, and he has for the last five years occupied the same position at the Radisson Blu Resort, St. Julian’s. Mr. Barry was goalkeeper with the Maltese national football team.
Kenneth Abela joined Island Hotels Group in 1992 and has held a number of positions within the group. Kenneth was appointed Group Financial Controller in 1999 and promoted to Chief Financial
Officer when the group went public in October 2009.
Raphael Cauchi takes on the role of director on the Board, lead-ing operations of the revitalised Island Caterers in an executive capacity. Mr. Cauchi joined Island Hotels Group in 1996 prior to the opening of the Radisson Blu Resort, St. Julian’s, as Food & Beverage Manager. He went on to hold a number of positions within the company, including General Man-ager of the St. Julian’s property. In 2004 Mr. Cauchi assumed the role of General Manager of the Radisson Blu Resort & Spa, Golden Sands, and has directed the Resort since opening with the successful hosting of the CHOGM conference held in 2005. As an executive director, Ra-phael will be overseeing the day-to-day operations as well as the growth strategies for Island Caterers.
Group Chairman Winston V. Zahra and Group CEO Winston J. Zahra will retain their positions as di-rectors of the Island Caterers board.
Island Caterers ltd. also an-nounced the final appointments that bring together its sales and marketing organisation. Forming part of the group sales and market-ing set-up and falling under the direction of Group Sales and Mar-keting Director, John Dandria, the new team is made up of managers and sales executives.
Adrian Tonna takes over as Director of Sales for the MICE segment. Mr. Tonna joins Island Caterers from the Group sales office where he held a number of positions. Also joining the MICE team is Mark Vella as Sales Man-ager (MICE) and Diane Scicluna who assumes the role of Asst. Sales Manager (MICE).
Gordon Sammut assumes the
role of Senior Sales Manager, head-ing a team whose efforts focus on creating stunning weddings, original corporate events and unique private parties. Gordon is supported in his new role by Sarah Louise Nunn as Sales Manager, Sales Executive Christina Pisani and Wedding Con-sultant Daniela Bonavia.
Island Caterers is one of Malta’s leading Event Catering provid-ers, supplying catering across a cross-section of segments for small or large numbers. Island Caterers focuses on developing unique cater-ing solutions that are customer-oriented, with an emphasis on flexibility and detail.
Winston J. Zahra, Group CEO of Island Hotels Group Holdings Plc, stated: “These are exciting times for Island Caterers. The strength, commitment and expe-rience of the new team heading Island Caterers is an important aspect in developing Malta’s most recognizable catering brand into an even stronger organisation.”
Top Award for the Westin
The yearly Starwood Regional Round Table Meetings, this year held at the brand new W Hotel Bar-celona, saw the Westin Malta team win the most prestigious award, ranking the property amongst the best top-performing Starwood Ho-tels and Resorts in Europe, Africa
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BulletinNews
November 2010
and the Middle East.The Executive Team of The
Westin Dragonara Resort attended the annual ‘Round Tables’ con-ference where the current year’s performance indexes and future strategies for the hotel were re-viewed in detail.The meetings and workshops were brought to a grand finale during an event held in the Ballroom of the new W Hotel in Barcelona. The eve-ning was particularly memorable for the Westin Dragonara Resort Team as they carried away the ‘EAME Journey Award 2009’ – Drive out-standing results margin performance. This top acknowledgment by Star-wood was presented to The Westin Team by Mr. Vos & Mr. Koren.
Photo: Mr Roeland Vos, Mr Edward Bonello, Mr Jason Degiorgio, Mr Malcolm Jones, Mr Michael Kamsky, Ms Michelle Fenech Seguna, Ms Karen Warrington, Mr Francis Busuttil and Mr Robert Koren
Sensational Sunday Lunches at The Westin
The Sensational Sunday lunches are back at the Terrace Restaurant of the Westin Dragonara Resort. Executive Chef James Mifsud and his culinary brigade prepare the finest fare from all continents and also offer food which is not too calorific for the health-conscious.
This year the Sunday Lunch at the Terrace Restaurant offers a wider selection than ever before. There is a lavish antipasto selec-tion, soups, any plate of pasta from the live cooking station, a carvery, main courses, a theme corner (including Asian and Chinese), as well as the exquisite display
of home-made mouth-watering sweet temptations and coffee from the speciality corner.
This Sunday feast costs €30.95 per person and includes half a bottle of wine, while accompa-nying children pay half price. Free parking is also offered to all patrons. The Westin Kids’ club is also free of charge for children up to 12 years old.
Westin Winner of Europe’s Leading Family Resort at the World Travel Awards
The 2010 World Travel awards, described by the Wall Street Jour-nal as the ‘Oscars’ of the global travel and tourism industry, reveal the ‘best of the best’ in the region. The Westin Dragonara Resort has once again achieved a winning title: ‘Europe’s Leading Family Resort’ during the World Travel Awards European regional cer-emony, staged in Antalya, Turkey.
The winners were selected with the help of thousands of industry professionals worldwide who have been voting online. Graham E. Cooke, Founder and President of World Travel Awards, said that in addition to the prestige for their respective companies and destinations, the winners also gain considerable commercial benefit.
The Westin Dragonara Resort was nominated for this award together with eleven other luxury hotels in Italy, Switzerland, Slova-kia, Greece and Cyprus, to name a few.
Clean the Seabed
Recently a team of 35 local ama-teur and professional divers, rang-ing from 12 to 60 years, took part in a voluntary dive along the sea-bed in front of the Marina Hotel at the Corinthia Beach Resort in support of Project AWARE Foun-dation’s international ‘Underwa-ter Cleanup Day’. The day-long activity resulted in the collection of some five skipfuls of assorted debris strewn all over the seabed. This included anything from the usual plastic and glass bottles and cans, to bulkier items such as metal ladders and sunbeds.
This worthwhile initiative was taken by Star Fish Diving Centre, the Marina Hotel’s contracted professional diving centre and school, in close collaboration with the management team of the Ma-rina Hotel at the Corinthia Beach Resort. Star Fish Diving Centre provided all the diving equipment free of charge, whilst The Marina Hotel, in turn, supplied refresh-ments throughout the day.
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BulletinNews
November 2010
New Executive Chef at The Westin
Mr James Mifsud has just been appointed Executive Chef at the Westin. James has eleven years of managerial experience within the Culinary Department. His first supervisory and managerial experi-ences were with leading five-star hotels in Malta. For the past nine years, James has held a leading role within the Kitchen Brigade of the Hilton, with his most recent role being that of Executive Sous-Chef.
During the past years, James has been awarded 17 gold, 11 silver and 5 bronze medals in Local Chefs Culinary competi-tions. Among other prestigious awards, James was the winner of the Hilton Talent of International Sous-Chefs Competition and was also awarded Chef of the Year by the Malta Culinary Association.
Twin ‘Peaks’ for Corinthia Hotels
Corinthia Hotels has announced that two of its leading five-star hotels, the Corinthia Palace Hotel & Spa in Malta and the Corinthia
to take us further as it also has to make good for the very particular circumstances we will be faced with. So my parting note is that we have to work much harder next year, as the challenges ahead of us are many. However I must also commend the decisions and efforts taken by all of those who worked hard to achieve
Continues from page 15
From the President
Hotel St Petersburg in Russia, have won the coveted titles of ‘Malta’s Leading Hotel’ and ‘Europe’s Lead-ing Meetings and Conference Hotel’ respectively, at the World Travel Awards European regional ceremo-ny held in Antalya, Turkey, recently.
This is the second year in a row that the Corinthia Palace Hotel and Spa lays claim to this World Travel Awards title, whereas for the Corinthia Hotel St Petersburg, it is the second major accolade in the space of two weeks, having just been declared ‘Best Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE) Hotel in St Petersburg’ at the Russian Business Travel & MICE awards.
The World Travel Awards was launched in 1993 to acknowledge and recognise excellence in the world’s travel and tourism industry. Now celebrating its 17th Anniversary, the awards are regarded as the very highest achievement that a travel product could ever hope to receive.
the results registered this year, the Ministry of Tourism, MTA, Airmalta, MIA, and others, and augur that we will together man-age to sustain a similar pattern for next year!!
I take this opportunity to ex-tend to you festive greetings, and wish you all a prosperous year!
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37November 2010
A New Incentive for the Upgrading of Hotels & RestaurantsHotels, accommodation establishments and restaurants around the Maltese islands will be able to benefit from a loan interest subsidy scheme when they carry out projects to upgrade their facilities and thereby improve their product offering.
Operating within a highly-com-petitive environment, particularly with other competing tourist des-tinations, it is imperative for the local industry to renovate, diversify their offering and maintain a very high level in the services provided, thereby meeting and possibly ex-ceeding clients’ expectations.
This new scheme administered by Malta Enterprise aims to en-courage such investments by hotels, accommodation establishments and restaurants by alleviating in part the burden of the costs to carry out these works.
It also seeks to boost the overall competitiveness of the tourism sector and increase the number of satisfied visitors, thereby building up Malta’s positive reputation and image.
Approved projects may re-ceive an interest rate subsidy of
between 1% and 3% which may be granted on interest payable to a bank during the first five years of a loan period.
The rate of assistance varies according to certain criteria, such as the added value that the proj-ects would provide to the tourism industry, with a higher interest rate subsidy being granted to those projects with greater added value.
The interest rate subsidy may cover loans required for refurbish-ing and upgrading of premises including extensions, modifications and extensions to premises, as well as the acquisition of plant, machin-ery, apparatus and instruments.
In order to be eligible for sup-port under this scheme, applica-tions must be submitted by the end of 2011, while all the project costs must be incurred and paid
for between 1st June 2010 and 31st December 2012.
Hotels can benefit from the subsidy on loans up to €7 million, while the capping for restaurants stands at €500,000.
Interested enterprises must consult the advisory services pro-vided by Malta Enterprise when planning the project. This process will assist the enterprise in defin-ing projects that are focused and which aim to achieve an identifi-able increase in the activity and offering of the applicant, even though it does not guarantee even-tual approval of the application.
Further information can be obtained by visiting http://support.maltaenterprise.com/hospitality or by calling Malta Enterprise on +356 2542 2020.
39November 2010
Ensuring MIA SoarsJulian Jaeger was earlier this year reconfirmed Chief Executive Officer at Malta International Airport. Zillah Bugeja asks him about the airport’s recent achievements and the ongoing challenges of increasing capacity and improving quality.
Summer 2010 statistics beat all previous records, this was the first time that Malta Interna-tional Airport’s monthly passen-ger movements exceeded the 400,000 mark. How well did the airport manage this number of passenger movements?
The airport is getting more crowded, and that is a good problem to have. We did not expect July to achieve 400,000 passengers. It was the first time ever, and it is the result of the strong cooperation within the tourism industry in Malta. We have
established a very good relationship with the Malta Tourism Authority and the Parliamentary Secretariat for Tourism, and we are working together to expand capacity. We attend various international events and conferences during which we continue to promote Malta as a destination and try to expand the network of routes and airlines. Our Airline Marketing Department is actively building good personal rela-tionships with our airline customers and prospective clients.
It is important for them to
MIA CEO Julian Jaeger receiving the Best Airport of the Year Award from ACI World Director General Angela Gittens
know about Malta and what we have to offer so that whenever they decide to open new routes or change strategy, Malta will be on their list and subsequently taken into consideration. Meeting them on a regular basis helps in this respect.
The strength of Malta, in my view, is that all the stakeholders on the island work well together and have the same goal, to increase the capacity. Without the capacity, the best product and the best market-ing would fail.
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Could you explain the concept behind the recent revamp of the MIA logo?
Since privatisation, MIA has changed significantly. It was al-ways the aim of MIA to improve, enhance its services and obviously the results as well, to grow the pas-senger numbers and the activity. Overall MIA has been successful in improving the quality. Through the rebranding exercise, we wanted to focus more on quality and the passenger experience. 80% of our passengers are foreigners and we thought it was time to review our corporate image. The aim was on the one hand to reflect what Malta essentially is all about - the warmth, the cordial colours and the move-ment, and we wanted to focus on ‘Malta Airport’, as, in Malta’s case, the word ‘international’ is evident by its very nature. A parent brand was needed under which we can put all our sub brands as well - Malta Airport Shopping, Malta Airport Security, Malta Airport MetOf-fice, SkyParks Business Centre and Malta Airport Parking. The only brand which did not fit under this umbrella is La Valette Club, our VIP lounge, which we felt is something separate and more exclusive.
MIA has an unusual status in that it services not only travel-lers but also has a role as a pure entertainment and commercial destination – people from the locale come for a coffee and to use the shops, bank, cater-ing outlets and pharmacy. How relevant is this sector to MIA’s overall strategy?
It is very relevant. The recent changes in the terminal were signifi-cant in this regard, on both airside as well as landside, with the conve-nience shop, the new location for the cafeteria, the pharmacy and the food court downstairs. I have to ad-mit that I was quite surprised myself at the figures: landside contributes 40 per cent of overall sales in our outlets. From a commercial point
of view this is very important and is important for our future plans. The Business Centre will continue to build on MIA’s identity as a destina-tion on its own. The local patrons are very important for us.
Would you elaborate on the international eco-certification, the BRE Environmental Assess-ment (BREEAM) which has been applied for SkyParks Busi-ness Centre?
We want to focus on quality. One of the ways we can do this is by offering Grade A offices both in terms of the standard of finishing, maintenance, of running the busi-ness centre and the standard of the services rendered. An international certification makes a difference. It proves that an independent body
looks into the diverse aspects of the project and eventually grades them. This is carried out on various cri-teria such as health and wellbeing, energy, transport, water, material and waste, land-use, ecology and pollution. These are important also for those who will eventually be working within the building. This is why we took up the challenge, invested money and will be going through this rigorous process. We want to ensure that we achieve the target of providing first-class quality and services in this building.
Our customers can rest assured that, together with their employees, they will operate within an envi-ronment which is not only pleas-ing to the eye but very functional as it is a stone’s throw away from anything one could require. The
SkyParks Business Centre which is expected to be completed by Summer 2011
43November 2010
location of the building is an obvi-ous advantage as it is very much in the centre of Malta and with good road connectivity. What makes the area even more attractive are the forthcoming changes in public transport – as the airport will be one of four hubs being contemplated for the public bus system. At SkyParks, we want to concentrate on the services as well. We already have several in the airport: the pharmacy, the convenience shop, and food and beverage outlets. But we want to add more. At the Business Centre we will have a fitness centre, a child-care centre, a medical centre and some restaurants. We are keen to include further services, not only for the benefit of our own employees, but also for those of our tenants. For the future, we are also considering several options to locate an associ-ated hotel at the airport, with a maximum of 60 rooms.
Would you comment on MIA’s achievement of the ACI Eu-rope’s Best Airport Award 2010 which recognises achievement
in core activities such as cus-tomer service, retail, security and environmental awareness?
I think it was mainly the achievements in retail and cus-tomer satisfaction which drove the vote. The overall passenger experi-ence has continued to improve. It
was appreciated that we improved the seat capacity significantly, we changed the terminal layout completely, and we increased our information desks. The waiting time due to security is difficult to
improve further as it is already very low by international standards; however, being a small airport we have the advantage that most of the services work very efficiently and to the satisfaction of our cus-tomers. Last year we qualified as fourth best airport in Europe in a
passenger survey which shows that the overall service is appreciated. On the retail side, for an airport our size, this mix of quality services makes the difference and this is be-ing recognised.
“We did not expect July to achieve 400,000 passengers. It was the first time ever, and is the result of the strong cooperation within the tourism industry in Malta.”
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45November 2010
What was the diversification strategy which helped towards registering a net profit increase of 2.1% in 2009?
We started to increase and refurbish the area within the terminal in 2008 and we finished in June 2009. The diversification strategy mainly focused on growing all our non-aviation revenues and businesses: concession fees from the shops, revenues from parking, the VIP lounge and rent. Overall
we achieved an increase of 23 per cent in 2009, which meant that this more than made up for the de-creases in the aviation revenues.
It is important to highlight the fact that we have not increased our airport charges since 2006. More importantly, we did the opposite. In 2008 we introduced an incentive scheme of one million euro. In real terms this means that we have ef-fectively reduced the charges. This needs to be seen in the perspec-tive of our responsibility towards our shareholders to remain and become more profitable. That is why we have to control our costs, to increase the passenger numbers and the related revenues.
Would you explain the policy of support schemes to encourage the introduction of new routes and additional flight frequencies?
We have a scheme which is available to all airlines. When an airline decides to fly from a new and strategic destination to Malta, we offer a discount that applies for three years. The difference between a new and a strategic destina-tion lies in the discount we give. Through this system we paid out roughly a million euro in 2008 and
2009 to encourage people to open routes to Malta.
What about the United States and Russia as new destinations?
In my opinion, the United States will not be a new destination any time soon. It could work as a triangle such as Emirates operate from Dubai through Larnaca. The problem is that a lot of Ameri-can routes to Europe have been dropped. Russia is a challenge as well, but I do see potential for
“The strength of Malta is that all the stakeholders on the island work well together and have the same goal - to increase the capacity as much as possible. Without the capacity, the best product and the best marketing will fail.”
47November 2010
BIOGRAPHY
Julian Jaeger
Chief Executive Officer -Malta International Airport plcMr Jaeger was born in Austria in 1971 and graduated Master of Law from the University of Vienna.
Julian Jaeger’s experience originates from the legal field with particular empha-sis on competition law, aviation law and tax consultancy. For three years he was Head of Business Development at Vienna International Airport. In this capacity Mr. Jaeger was responsible for market devel-opment, market analysis, market research, aviation concessions, airport charges and aviation strategy as well as traffic forecasts, and statistics.
Julian Jaeger served as Chief Commer-cial Officer with MIA for a year before being appointed CEO, undertaking air-line marketing, the development of cargo traffic and the passenger hub, the land de-velopment project, as well as the cruise-and-fly business and the concessions and retail business.
Since Mr Jaeger’s appointment, MIA has accomplished major projects on the terminal such as the Schengen area ex-tension, the retail area restructuring and the upgrading of taxiways on airside.
Julian Jaeger is married to Heidi who is a medical doctor and has a 2-year-old daughter Anina. His favourite hobbies are football, reading, skiing and travelling.
Malta from the Russian market.All the Scandinavian routes are
working well from a load factor point of view, even the increase we saw this year in Spain and France shows that there could be more tourists coming.
As already mentioned, the co-operation with other stakeholders to increase the number of routes to Malta is important to us. We have three people in Marketing who are really working hard, visiting airline headquarters and attending various international conferences every year. Although we try to keep a low public profile on these efforts, we are very active in this regard.
MIA is outsourcing its adver-tising - International Airport Advertising Corporation Ltd. (IAAC) will be taking over the advertising programme on the MIA premises as well as that related to its subsidiary com-panies. What advantage does IAAC have over Maltese adver-tising companies?
IAAC will be working very closely with their strategic part-ners, Clear Channel Airports, a division of Clear Channel Out-door, the world’s largest out-of-home advertising company. To compete with a company like Clear Channel is very difficult. They are the biggest airport advertising company worldwide who produce close to one mil-lion displays in over 50 countries across five continents. Nobody could get anywhere close to a company like that, that is why we did not go for a public tender. I’ve seen Zurich and Larnaca where they are responsible for the advertising - they have gone two steps further in terms of technology and how to present ad-vertising in airports. This is a solid company. They will invest over a million euro in the next seven years, most of it in the immediate future. The whole concept will be revamped, to the improvement of the airport environment.
“Our customers can rest assured that, together with their employees, they will operate within an environment which is not only pleasing to the eye but very functional as it is a stone’s throw away from anything one could require.”
48 November 2010
Restaurants’ CornerNoel Debono - Chairman Restaurant Sector
Although usually the months of summer are associated with holiday breaks, the Restaurant Committee remained active on various fronts. One of the major complaints that the Association was accused of has been the lack of attention to the problems faced by the restaurant sector. Although this is far from true there was a lack of awareness amongst the sector of the various issues addressed by the MHRA Council in respect of the restaura-teurs. So it was decided to come out with a quarterly newsletter in which we will highlight the many activities that the Restaurant Com-mittee within the MHRA holds during the previous quarter. In August we therefore published our first “Restaurants Review”, which was sent to all members in order to create awareness of the MHRA Restaurant Committee activities organised for the benefit of the sec-tor. This was well received by the members. A three-leaf brochure was also created to promote the benefits that members enjoyed through their membership with MHRA.
In early summer the Restaurant Committee held a very fruitful meeting with the recently ap-pointed ITS Chairperson, Mrs. Claire Zammit Xuereb. During this meeting several matters concerning the restaurant sector were placed on the agenda for this first meeting of its kind with ITS. The first issue was a discussion regarding ITS students’ summer placements in restaurants. The committee pointed out that catering establishments were losing out to the major hotels in the allocation of F&B student placements. A proposal was put forward whereby a percentage of placements will be allocated to the restaurant sector. It was also proposed that during the winter
months F&B students will spend a day a week working in a restau-rant, thus making them aware that a placement in a restaurant could be just as beneficial as at a hotel. It was also agreed that the time has come to take action to establish minimum standards required for all those who work in the F&B service sector. It was proposed that a mini-mum certification system be put in place similar to the A&B licence in hygiene for food handlers.
Due to the perceived lack of interest in the sector, the member-ship base at MHRA is consider-ably low and it was decided that something must be done to drive numbers up. Therefore the first 3 regional sub committees were set up, consisting of Mellieha/Armier chaired by Nicole Cini, St. Paul’s Bay/Bugibba/Qawra chaired by Isabelle Debattista and Marsascala by Mathew Pace. These commit-tees will be supported by Vincent Lungaro Mifsud, our Member-ship Officer. The intention is that they will meet on a monthly basis and then report to the Restaurant Committee so that we can address issues that arise in the different localities. These sub committees are on an experimental basis, and once we see that the system works we intend to set up others in key areas round the island.
The Restaurant Committee has also been planning a second confer-ence like the one held in February and the date has now been set for Tuesday 7th December. The theme of the conference is “The Chal-lenges facing the Catering Sector”. This time the agenda will focus on the challenges ahead that need to be addressed in order to meet the demands of customers with tighter spending money due to the various increases in the cost of living. A
survey is being conducted to assess the performance of the sector for the current year, and the results will be presented at the conference. This will be followed by a discus-sion, question time and suggestions as to what actions need to be taken in view of the results achieved. Mr Adrian Cummins, chief executive of The Restaurants Association of Ireland, will make a presentation about a perspective of the restaura-teurs’ sector in an economy which had been faced with similar dif-ficulties during the economic crisis, the lessons learnt and the road to success with some insight into new trends to come in the near future. The Honourable Dr. Mario De-marco will also address the seminar and give his opinion on the best course for the way forward.
During the conference we will also launch the MHRA Recom-mended Label scheme for those who want to obtain a label that denotes quality in the management of their catering establishment. The label will eventually be promoted through various media, including the successful website www.dinein-malta.com.
As the success of this conference will depend on the participation of members and their active role in the proceedings, we urge all members to participate and also to encourage non-members to attend. Reminders will be sent closer to the date.
Summer is over and now we must look ahead and work together to keep building a sound base for our restaurant sector. The Commit-tee will carry on its drive to support members at every occasion and opportunity. However it is impor-tant that members give their full support through their participation at events and activities held by the committee and sub-committees.
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51November 2010
The Barracuda Story
The building itself was one of the very first buildings in that area of St Julian’s. Constructed almost two centuries ago, it was built in differ-ent stages as a residence, complete with its very own servants’ quarters, back when the early 19th Century elite flocked to this new seaside area to enjoy the fresh air and relax in style. A newer part was added on some 100 years ago.
Walter Cassar speaks proudly of the award bestowed upon the Barracuda by Din l-Art Helwa for
Marika Azzopardi
From left: George, Mina, Erika, Walter, Pat, Denise, Mara and Terence
It’s been over 32 years since the Barracuda opened its doors to the public and since then it’s certainly swum through many waters. Everybody knows the name, there is practically no need to add an address to this elegant restaurant placed solidly on a peninsula that allows diners to grasp a 360° panorama of the sea and encroaching land’s end. The restaurant was opened back when there were very few restaurants in Malta and in hindsight things have changed so tremendously that it seems impossible to connect today’s impressive establishment with its very much simpler beginnings.
preserving the building itself with-out spoiling its original quality. This seasoned restaurateur has a glint in his eyes every time he mentions the house that has shaped his life and that of his family. “There had to be changes in order to adapt to the building’s new requirements. The transformation of the courtyard which we use as the Barracuda’s main restaurant area was not done by me but as part of various works done during all these years. The servants’ quarters were turned into
103October 2009
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Events
The Kempinski has in the past 10 years always been an option for wedding parties, however this market has escalated recently with the hotel becoming more flexible and open to clients’ requirements. Kempinski Gozo’s main markets are the British, the German and the Maltese in that order. Targeting the wedding market is a substantial affair, bringing in a considerable amount of business for the future, especially from Malta.
Although primarily a leisure hotel, facilities for conferences and events are also available and the coming years are set to see an increase in this area. Earlier this year Nintendo, the Japanese games giant, chose the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz to launch their “Wii Sports Resort” game. This event saw journalists take part in real sports such as jetskiing, canoeing, frisbeeing at the beach and then playing out the same games on the Wii.
New Residences
Now you can completely buy into the Kempinski brand in Gozo. In November 2004 the hotel closed, reopening seven months later with new added rooms, apartments and suites for private residences. These residences are serviced luxury
apartments in a private wing of the hotel, the concept being that they are self-contained but also make use of the facilities and services of the ho-tel. Kempinski residences are avail-able in some of the most spectacular resorts and cities in the world.
The Successful Mix
A warm greeting, an array of accents and the attentive service with a smile all add to the escap-ism that the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz offers. The success of the Kempinski Group around the world is largely due to the perfect blend of local talent and interna-tionally trained Kempinski staff. The young vibrant team running the Gozo hotel are the movers and shakers. Returning to Gozo in October 2008, Noel Attard, the General Manager, wanted a young and energetic team to run the Kempinski. Noel is very local. Born and bred in Victoria, Gozo’s capital, he went to University in Malta and in 2003 Noel joined the MBA programme with the Univer-sity of Reims in France and from then started focusing more on hotel operations, helping also in other Kempinski openings within Europe. He is the youngest General Man-ager in all of the Kempinski’s 62 hotels and has been working and undergoing training with Kempin-
ski since 2001.Noel says that although the
Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz is aimed as a hideaway destination, there is still plenty on offer. The leisure concierge can help you try your hand at all sorts of fun from painting to rock climbing. Or one can just browse the itinerary of full scheduled events occurring within the hotel and in Gozo dur-ing your stay. It’s not absolutely necessary to venture far. With spacious rooms, king-size beds, plasma screens and a sunbed on each of the balconies, you just might prefer some time in your room. If you don’t fancy spa-sharing at the indoor pool, then you could always put on the high power jacuzzi jets in the bath!
The past 10 years has been a very busy decade. There has been direction and dedication to excel-lence with non-stop improve-ments made by both the owner and the management company. Investment in both the building and the staff has created the suc-cessful formula on offer today.
From the outset, the open-ing of the 5-star Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz has been a jewel in Gozo’s crown. Since the hotel became a Kempinski, Gozo, with its warm hospitality and traditional Mediteranean way, has gained exposure and an excellent reputa-tion worldwide.
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53November 2010
the Piccolo Padre Trattoria/Piz-zeria. Yet we managed to intervene gently without harming any of the building’s character or style. Main-tenance must be done regularly but I would say the building requires staple maintenance which any sea-front building must be given.”
The one-metre-thick walls were obvious signs of foresight and good planning on the part of whoever designed the building. This was proven further when excavations unearthed a mixture of fine sand and marble granules that worked together as very effective insulation against the onslaught of seawa-ter, so much so that the building surprisingly suffers very trivial levels of humidity. One of the upcoming innovations is the introduction of the use of seawater to cool the res-taurant’s refrigeration and air-con-ditioning plant, a project for which Mr Cassar has secured partial EU-funding. This project will help alleviate the high energy consump-tion costs. “High energy costs are a reality today, but we have to be proactive and find ways of lowering these in a sustainable manner.”
But what about the food for which the Barracuda is famed? It has certainly gone down well with Maltese and foreign patrons alike and the fact that some of the world’s most important personali-ties have dined at the Barracuda is
the proof of its quality cuisine. The entire Liverpool football team and the renowned manager of Man-chester United, Sir Alex Ferguson,
have graced the restaurant with their presence. Other notables who have tasted and enjoyed the Bar-racuda hospitality and food include Claudia Schiffer, Claudio Baglioni, Madonna, David Beckham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon Stone, Omar Sharif, Gianni Morandi and the ex-presidential candidate Sena-tor John McCain. The list never ends. “It has been that way from the start. Strangely enough, some of these star guests actually influ-enced my decision on what stayed on the menu and what did not.”
However, the fact that the Barracuda has such an upmarket reputation can give the impression that it is an expensive place to dine at. This is far from the reality as the menu can suit any pocket. What’s more, the restaurant now offers free complimentary parking within walking distance at the nearby Le Méridien Hotel. With this added advantage all diners, including families, are not hampered by park-ing problems around this busy spot of St Julian’s.
With 70% of the menu being fish-based or prepared with related items and a strong Maltese influ-ence, the question lends itself – what is the Barracuda’s bestselling
dish? Mr Cassar confides, “There is no specific bestseller as the fresh-ness of the fish and the simple and genuine quality of the ingredients make bestsellers out of every dish. But of all the dishes in the menu our favourite dish, with foreigners and locals alike, is the good old Balbuljata. Obviously we present it in a different way from what people are used to seeing their grandmoth-er dish up, but it all comes from the inspiration of personal past memo-ries. My mother has always been an excellent cook and although I’m not one to take up cooking myself, I have learnt to taste and judge well. You may have six chefs in your kitchen but only one per-son makes the final decision. The ingredients my mother uses left a mark, and the fact that I was born in North Africa and received an
54 November 2010
Italian education has added to my appreciation of good food.”
Reverting to talk about fish, Mr Cassar insists that the local fishing industry should be better regulated in order to ensure more profession-alism. Over the years he adamantly stuck to his habit of purchasing all fish from local sources with some exceptions, such as copious quanti-ties of octopus which are hard to find in local waters. This is proof of his belief in local products as he explains how, for example, he finds that the giant prawns caught in the Mediterranean are the best you could ever eat.
Talking of cooking leads on to talk about chefs. Walter Cassar prides himself in always having had Maltese nationals for head chefs at the Barracuda. He claims that great steps forward have been made in the industry today and it is easier to find well-trained chefs. This is also thanks to the hard work done by ITS. However, he seriously bemoans how difficult it is to find good serving personnel. “The cul-ture of service is still sadly lacking here. It is an affliction which hits at a national level. Although I have to admit that a slow improvement in this area is being noticed. Over the years I’ve come to recognise the fact that good service can camouflage a chef ’s problems if the serving person knows how to behave, how to talk, how to deal with clients. A smile and a gentle
attitude go a long way. This is of crucial importance for the business. I’ve learnt along the way that to build up a reputation a restaurant takes years, but to break it takes only two dissatisfied clients.”
The Barracuda has moved on with the times and as major or mi-nor changes are incorporated in the business from time to time in order to keep abreast with the times and with competition, the restaurant has taken on new challenges as well. With the involvement of one of Walter’s daughters in the busi-ness, the Barracuda has now also become a strong favourite for small weddings, not only with locals but also with foreigners who many-a-time decide to celebrate their mar-riage ceremony on the verandah of the establishment to enjoy the stupendous view.
“My experience here at the Bar-racuda began by chance. I took it on with more determination when people hinted that it was probably not my kind of thing. I stuck it out and thankfully have always had the full support and cooperation of my family. The family bond proved a lifesaver, always. My wife actually embraced it
all and, in fact, Piccolo Padre started out as her own creation and she still regards it as her own “baby”.
My youngest daughter Denise and her husband Terence Cachia are now well integrated in the running of the Barracuda and Piccolo Padre. My other daugh-ter, Erika, and her husband, George Rouvelas, run the Hotel Juliani and all other activities connected to it. Consultation and communication are what keeps us going as a team and as a fam-ily. I am proud of them all, even though I admittedly tried to dis-suade my daughters from taking up a profession linked to cater-ing, knowing how hard and de-manding the business is. Catering takes over your life. You either love it or you hate it. There can be no lukewarm feelings towards it.” That Walter loves it is seen in the sparkling way he speaks about his, and his family’s chosen way of life.
Barracuda, 194 Main Street, St Julian’s, SLM 1019.Tel: [email protected]
56 November 2010
Barracuda’s Recipes
Ingredients:
150g Maltese sausagemeat500g Fresh garganelli50g Finely chopped onions10g Finely chopped garlic50g Finely chopped carrots25ml Port20g Fresh mint50g Fresh baby rucola150ml Fresh cream30g Butter
Ingredients:
4 Whole sea bass (filleted)20g Chopped capers Marjoram30ml Olive oil100g Breadcrumbs40g Chopped onions200g Fresh spinach30g Butter
For the ‘Patata l-Forn’:
200g Potatoes (sliced)100g Onions50ml Chicken stock Olive oil & fresh rosemary
Garganelli Pasta with Maltese Sausage, Fresh Mint and Baby Rucola (Serves 4)
Roasted Sea Bass with Marjoram and Caper Crust, Wilted Spinach and ‘Patata l-Forn’ (Serves 4)
Method:
1. Sweat off the onions, garlic and carrots till golden brown.
2. Add the sausagemeat and cook for another five minutes.
3. Add the port and reduce.4. Finally add the cream and
simmer for another five minutes.5. In the meantime, boil the
garganelli in slightly salted water.6. Add the pasta to the sauce
together with the mint and rucola and cook for a further three minutes.
Method:
Preparing the fish:
1. Place the fish on a lightly oiled dish, seasoned with salt and pepper.
2. Mix the breadcrumbs, together with the capers marjoram and olive oil.
3. Cook the fish for seven minutes in a preheated oven at 175ºC.
Preparing the spinach:
Sweat the onions in a little bit of butter, add the spinach and cover saucepan for approximately a minute.
Preparing the ‘Patata l-Forn’:
Chop the potatoes and slice the onions, mix in the fresh rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper and cook in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 35 minuites.
58 November 2010
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59November 2010
Rock On Rokna!Rokna - Where Corners are Never Cut...
I am always sad to see long-stand-ing business establishments closing shop. There’s a certain comfort and security that comes with seeing names you have grown up with still alive, kicking and going strong. It’s also incredibly rare. Off the top of my head, I can barely count 5 and I doubt there are very many more, if at all. The Rokna is indeed one of a handful of business ventures that has more than stood the test of time. It’s more or less my age, having opened its doors in 1975, a
year after I was born which means it celebrates its 35 birthday this year. For a long time, I wondered how on earth they managed to survive, when all the others fell by the wayside and were compelled to change hands, names and even designation. I always half-expected to hear that they had eventually succumbed to the same fate as their competition and had folded up and packed it in. But after meeting the team, I am now convinced they are here to stay.
When I think of the Rokna, I immediately think delicious pizza baked in a log oven. But there’s actually more to the Rokna than pizza. In fact I am sitting in the hotel part of the Rokna, which has been operational since 1975. True, back then, holiday apartments were in vogue and it wasn’t until the late nineties that the the three-star hotel opened its doors and I am given my first lesson in the impor-tance of keeping your finger on the pulse of the market - knowing
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SUPPLIERS TO THE CATERING TRADE
61November 2010
what people want and catering to customer whims. In keeping with its name, there is a cosy homely feeling about the place. It is small enough for the staff to be on first-name basis with its patrons and yet none of the modern conveniences have been sacrificed along the way. It manages to be both inexpensive yet impressive, given its strategic location, bang in the middle of St. Julians, a five minute walking radius from any beach or restaurant.
The Rokna is reputedly the oldest pizzeria in Malta, overtak-en only by the Bologna, which has since closed down. I’m sitting across from Victor Camilleri and I want to know the secret to their longevity.
‘Hotels and restaurants are probably the toughest businesses to run, so it’s easy to give up. Bad management and staff problems are at the root of every failing venture. If you look after your quality and your customers you will reap a decent turnover and survive.‘
Ironically, where other estab-lishments undergo major recon-structive facelifts in the hope of injecting a new lease of life, the Rokna restaurant and pizzeria has tried to hang on to its traditional rustic roots, with very few modifi-cations. In a world of modern con-veniences, where minimalism rules supreme, customers, especially for-eigners, appreciate the throwback to the past. They strive to reconcile keeping the old while embrac-ing newer, more refined concepts. Benches, for instance, have been done away with because nowadays personal space is all-important.
The Rokna is a totally family-run affair. Originally, the hotel was run by his brother Anton, whereas it was Victor and his brothers Patrick and John who looked after the restaurant side of things. Patrick unfortunately passed away last December and I immediately sense the void that Patrick’s death has created. Today the younger genera-tion have stepped in, Victor and
Anton have more or less phased out. Being the youngest, John is still pretty active in the restaurant, but nowadays it is the children who primarily run the show.
Anton’s daughters, Fiona and Schevon, run the hotel while the pizzeria and restaurant is run by John, Anton’s youngest brother, and Patrick’s sons, Jacques and An-dre, together with Brian, an old and trusted employee who has become part of the Rokna family. Victor’s daughter, Stephanie, looks after the administrative arm of the restau-rant but regularly lends both her own in the restaurant. Paolo, the husband of Maria, the only sister, is the expert pizzaiolo, having been at Rokna for 30 years.
In fact, there is no particular
hierarchy among the members of staff - everyone pitches in accord-ing to what is needed at any given moment in time, whether it’s taking orders, serving food, or helping out in the kitchen.
In an ever-increasing computer-ised world, young blood is all-important. The world of hotels has changed dramatically. While in the past hoteliering was a free-for-all and things ran amok, today, with EU health and safety regulations, and MTA directives continually being implemented and enforced, one needs to be constantly on the ball. The Rokna has embraced these changes which are all for the best – both of the hotel itself and ultimately of its guests. Inspectors from MTA and the Health and
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Safety Departments are assisted while carrying out their commend-able work as everyone at Rokna wants to move on and be totally in line with all changes for the better.
The Rokna seems to thrive on this constant juxtaposition of the old and the new, both aestheti-cally and operationally. While the youngsters have a lot to offer, Victor and Anton, old hands at the trade, reckon that they too still have a valuable contribution to make.
‘Although our children may know how to deal with comput-ers, they can still learn a thing or two from us about the human side, which is ultimately what makes or breaks a business.’
Indeed Victor is now convinced that though the quality of the food is very important, looking after clients is what contributes most to the success of a business. While they rely on the faithful patron-age of locals, some of whom they even remember in nappies, they also strive to target tourists, who are reputedly likely to keep coming back throughout their stay if you manage to get them on the first day of their holiday. This was tried and tested way back in the early 80‘s. When Nottingham Forest won the European Cup, the team came over to Malta twice and stayed at the Hilton. They rarely ate their evening meal anywhere except at Rokna. In fact the Camilleri broth-ers struck up a close friendship with Brian Clough and would visit
him regularly in the UK. Foreigners are a great source
of information because they share their day-to-day experiences with the staff. I imagine that all these years later there must be quite a few anecdotes and Victor tells me about the evening, almost five years ago, when Peter O’Toole walked in, had a meal and eventually left a beautiful red silk cravat behind. Instead of hanging on to the little piece of memorabilia Victor chased him down the road and returned the cravat to its rightful owner.
Being a person who has no compunction about sending my steak back if it is overcooked, I ask Victor what the Rokna complaints policy is and, just as I expect, the Rokna believe in bending over backwards to accommodate their
patrons. Wines are returned, no questions asked, as is food which is immediately substituted. Because they believe and rely upon word-of-mouth advertising, very rarely do they advertise in print. Their primary focus lies in making the customer as comfortable and happy as possible.
Hotels and restaurants have come a long way. Food and wine have improved tremendously and Victor reckons that on the island there are very few restaurants he would go as far as to term ‘bad’. This is why he feels that the only thing which can set one restaurant apart from another is customer satisfaction, which all boils down to the way you look after your clients.
‘In this business, if you do something right people rarely re-member - it’s overlooked and taken for granted. If you do something wrong, people rarely forget. Take the log oven for instance - if the logs aren’t kept in check you could ruin a batch of pizzas and there are very few pizzerias which opt for log ovens because of this. Of course we have our off-days, like everyone else. It’s a stressful business which requires a 24/7 commitment, but the fact that we are still here means we must be doing something right. Hopefully we’ll be here for another 35 years at the very least.’
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65November 2010
Rokna’s Recipes
Ingredients:140g White rice6 Shelled mussels7 Medium sized prawns20g Clams6 Calamari rings1 Medium-sized tomato
(chopped)1 Garlic clove (chopped)1 Teaspoon mint1 Teaspoon basil Parsley to garnish½ Glass White wine1 Cube fish stock
Ingredients:
Handful MozzarellaHandful Cheddar cheese6-8 Oven-roasted potato
slices (seasoned with garlic, onion, basil, olive oil & butter)
1 Maltese sausage (minced)1 Pizza Base
Method:1 Open up pizza base2 Add mozzarella and cheddar
cheese3 Place oven-roasted potato slices
to cover the surface of the pizza4 Add the Maltese sausage mince
Riso Pescatore
Pizza Paesana
Method:1. Cook rice leaving it slightly
undercooked2 Meanwhile, in a frying pan, heat
up olive oil and add garlic over a medium heat
3 Add chopped tomatoes, clams & calamari. Sauté for 3 minutes
4 Add prawns, mussels, mint, basil, white wine and fish stock. Simmer for 2-3 minutes
5 Add rice and mix well6 Plate and garnish with parsley
and mint
evenly over the pizza5 Place in oven and bake until
golden brown
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66 November 2010
GO Lands PrestigiousAlcatel-Lucent Award
GO plc, Malta’s leading communi-cations and entertainment provider, was recently recognised as one of Alcatel-Lucent’s most customer-fo-cused business partners. GO, Alca-tel-Lucent’s main business partner in the Maltese Islands, landed one of the four high-powered Alcatel-Lucent Awards designed specifi-cally to showcase top performing business partners in various aspects of their sales experience.
GO clinched the Best-Win-Against-Competition Award on grounds of its continued drive and motivation in strengthening Alcatel-Lucent presence among GO’s business customers. The award further consolidates the long-standing relationship between the two companies that peaked with Alcatel-Lucent’s extensive in-volvement in GO’s submarine cable system, linking Malta to Italy.
GO’s business team – in particular its sales representative, Amanda Abela – was singled out as winner of the award from a large number of high-status communica-tions companies that were in the running for the awards. GO won the award when the stakeholders of a prestigious company in Malta opted for ALU solutions as their first communications choice despite stiff competition on all fronts of the telecommunications market.
The partnership with Alcatel-Lucent results in high profile inno-vative solutions from the high-tech ALU portfolio for GO business clients. In addition, businesses pur-chasing hardware from GO – such as PBX systems that are an absolute must to all business entities – enjoy 24x7 support from GO’s highly-trained technical team and even benefit from unlimited advantages
such as attractive offers on Alcatel systems and convenient payment options. GO currently supports the majority of Malta’s elite private and public entities.
Speaking about the Alcatel-Lucent Best-Win-Against-Com-petition Award, Kenneth Spiteri, Head of GO Business, said: “We are absolutely delighted with the award – an exceptional achieve-ment attained through the willpow-er and the hard work put in by all members of the GO Business team. The result is proof that GO Busi-ness is geared to deliver exceptional solutions to its clients and reach important goals.”
“GO plc boasts a rich history with Alcatel-Lucent that spans over twenty years and has matured into a powerful and exciting business ex-perience that takes full advantage of the unique ALU portfolio,” he said.
Meanwhile, Amanda Abela from the GO Business team said: “Alcatel-Lucent has been a key supplier of ours for several years. Attractive benefits to key custom-ers include Alcatel-Lucent’s robust and scalable infrastructure to sup-port cost savings by centralisation, flexible solutions adaptable to the customer’s needs and IT environ-ment – and much more!”
Gianfranco Orienti, Channel Sales Manager at Alcatel-Lucent congratu-lated GO for its achievement.
From left: Amanda Abela from the GO Business team, Kenneth Spiteri Head of GO Business and Gianfranco Orienti, Channel Sales Manager at Alcatel-Lucent
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69November 2010
Eagle K-wearWhere Business Is Taken Very Personally
To say that Eagle K-wear has just landed wouldn’t really be a fair or accurate assessment. This clothing manufacturing company has been around much longer than I have for a start. It started in the 50’s, swung in the 60’s, sizzled in the 70’s and today, fifty-two years later, is born again and younger than ever.
Eagle K-wear have long been making corporate clothing and uniforms their business and now they have gone a step further and are taking their business beyond our shores. They believe that today they offer something that makes them ‘uniformly unique’ to bor-row their latest tagline. In fact, the company has recently come out
with this new slogan as part of a rebranding campaign aimed at rejuvenating the existing product as well as strengthening and consoli-dating their competitive presence internationally. After all, rebrand-ing is crucial for any company’s corporate identity. First impressions do count - it’s no myth.
The unique tagline and the con-
Michela Spiteri
Alex Aquilina – Chairman, Eagle K-wear
sequent renewed corporate identity did not happen overnight. I am sitting across from Alex Aquilina, the company’s chairman, who is responsible for this transformation. He is reluctant to hog the spotlight and take the credit and tells me that the best corporate decisions are those that are taken only after they have been shared:
70 November 2010
“Running a business can be lonely if you do it alone. Over the years I have found that when you involve your staff in the running of the business you get much better overall results. We rely on people to operate the production line and the end result is going to reflect the mood and attitude of these people. If they feel respected, they are happier. They actually feel like they own the brand and are instrumen-tal in the company’s success. A lot of thought went into creating the ‘Uniformly Unique’ logo. We circu-lated different taglines, got every-body on board, sounded everyone out and eventually we decided. “
Anyone with a keen eye will notice that the logo has also been ever so slightly, yet effectively, revamped - it was one of the first things that Alex changed when he took over from his father. They have kept their fresh, bright and bold corporate colours - orange, teal and blue, which, I notice are also reflected in their offices - but they have laid it out differently. In fact it does look more simple and that much more effective. Whereas before the eagle was static and looked somewhat crucified, it’s now in flight and rearing to go. Aquilina tells me that the present logo resonates with the company’s dynamic thrust - it is a company that is always moving forward.
The rebranding exercise came about as a result of the company’s internationalisation project spon-sored by Malta Enterprise and funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The image needed to be stronger and more dynamic because the compa-ny has to compete on an interna-tional level.
Back to the tagline - what exact-ly is ‘uniformly unique’ - an oxymo-ron if ever there was one - and can a uniform really be unique? For the last three years, Eagle K-wear have been the exclusive representative agents for Simon Jersey, the UK award-winning catalogue company.
Twenty percent of their turnover is generated by Simon Jersey catalogue sales. The remaining 80 percent is taken up by the school market and other government and commercial entities, like casinos, banks and restaurants.
Of course with a catalogue company, you run the risk of look-ing like the boy next door.
Uniformly Unique was de-veloped, together with the new company brochure and DVD presentation, precisely to give Eagle K-wear the corporate identity which would enable it to compete on the international stage. Custom-ers who are not entirely happy with what the catalogue has to offer and who want something custom-made or bespoke are now in a position to be choosy.
Recent years have seen a restructuring at the administration and production level, and there has been a much greater emphasis on the local market. In fact while many garments are manufactured in local factories, others are out-sourced. Raw materials and fabrics come from all over the world and the company has a healthy rela-tionship with many foreign suppli-ers. Still, Eagle K-wear remain in control of the design. They are the ultimate creators of the concept. If the client is not entirely happy with what the catalogue has to offer; if he wants to add, remove or change something or if he simply wants a different colour or piping, they are in a position to meet his demands, even offering the customer the chance to sample the garments.
73November 2010
“Nowadays we offer a truly per-sonal service. We offer something that is truly unique. The customer has become our focal point. If the client wants to capture a certain spirit or opt for a slightly different look we are in a position to cre-ate this. We also offer continuity. Eagle K-wear’s purchasing power means that they are in a position to buy their raw materials from the manufacturing houses, ensur-ing that fabrics and colours are in
continuous supply. As long as the customer wants something, we will provide it.”
Whereas in the 1960’s and 1970’s, the company was produc-tion-oriented and delivery dates were entirely set by production, today it is the customer that deter-mines the pace. Eagle K-wear have designed a system whereby deliver-ies are set by marketing and sales.
The local scenario works by itself and requires minimal oversee-
ing. It is the international sphere that takes up most of the com-pany’s thinking and strategy time. The company has developed a strong international presence over the years and is constantly seeking to develop its business overseas. Eagle K-wear were the first local uniform manufacturing company to have gone overseas and par-ticipated in the 2010 hotel show in Dubai. The Hotel Show is the Middle East’s largest and most im-portant hospitality show and brings together more than 350 exhibitors from 32 countries, offering the wid-est possible range of products and services. In this year’s show, Eagle K-wear strutted their beauty and spa collection down the catwalk in style and had their own stand strategically chosen opposite the corporate catwalk.
Projects and shows of this calibre involve a lot of logistic management and fall under the international business development department. The hotel market is very important to Eagle K-wear, especially now that they are in a position to offer the client the ability to pick and choose. Locally they are the preferred sup-pliers of the Radisson hotels and
Mr. Alex Aquilina talking to Parliamentary Secretary Dr Jason Azzopardi during a company visit in connection with ERDF projects
Dr Jason Azzopardi and Mr Alex Aquilina on the production shop floor.
74 November 2010
also supply and service the Vivaldi Golden Tulip, the Corinthia Group, the Phoenicia and the Coastline to name a few hotels. They also service a number of hotels overseas. Their product range is extensive - from managerial and front-of-house clothing to food and bever-age, housekeeping, spa, bus boy and chef wear. With Simon Jersey, the company offers a new uniform concept for hospitality by striking the right balance between practical-ity and style. Through its design expertise, Eagle K-wear is able to dress hotel and catering staff in any way that meets the customer’s exact requirements. Their next in-ternational port of call is the school show in Birmingham. With sixty percent of their turnover generated by the school uniform industry, this show provides the perfect show-case and platform for their bespoke and unique school uniform designs and the company will be officially launching their new school uniform brochure during this event.
Their latest (sub)mission state-ment is to be smarter, smarter here meaning the ability to achieve more with less effort. Aquilina be-lieves that this is doable and achiev-able. Today it is no longer solely about prices. It is about timeframes and delivering the quickest response to customer requirements. Eagle K-wear reckon that customer satisfac-tion is the ultimate sales booster.
Quite apart from schools and hotels, Eagle K-wear products can also be found in Casinos, banks, insurance agencies, supermarkets and most other commercial outlets. They are currently working on an international project for a prestigious hotel, which, if realized, will mean that they will have to supply all staff members with the full uniform.
Eagle K-wear have clearly come a long way from the days when they were synonymous with knit-ters and the knitting industry. Alex reckons that to go places you need to take a step back, take stock and assume a bird’s eye view. You need
to see what areas need focusing on. Sometimes you may need to loosen the reins and let other people take over. New blood, fresh ideas, giv-ing people opportunities to move forward is all important. Knowing what to hang on to and what to change is crucial. Whoever thought that uniforms were dull, boring and always the same may need to pay these people a visit.
Mr Alex Aquilina with the Hon Minister Mr George Pullicino and Mgr Victor Grech during the inauguration of the new offices on the occasion of the company’s 50th Anniversary in July 2008
“Today it is no longer solely about prices. It is about timeframes and delivering the quickest response to customer requirements.”
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77November 2010
A CNBC World film crew recently spent some 7 hours filming at the Delicata winery and at the com-pany’s wine festival at the Upper Barrrakka gardens in Valletta, during a recent visit to Malta. The film crew, who arrived on the Holland America cruise liner, were filming a new wine, food and travel series for the Wine Portfolio programme presented by TV host Jody Ness. The programme, which will be aired on CNBC World four times a week later in the year, is watched by over 88 million viewers in the US and 330 million people worldwide.
Jody Ness, together with Kevin Fox, President & CEO of Re:Source Media inc and John Primeau, the Public Relations Manager of Hol-land America Line, were welcomed to the wine festival on Sunday night by Michael Delicata, who had coordinated the visit.
The following morning the CNBC film crew visited the Deli-cata winery on Paola Waterfront where Bill Hermitage, Delicata’s Director of Sales & Marketing, escorted Jody Ness and his team
CNBC World at Delicata
through the grape-receiving area and Delicata’s new fermentation hall, before inviting them to taste wines from both the tanks and French oak barrique.
Mr. Ness was particularly inter-ested in the wines made from Mal-ta’s two indigenous grape varieties and particularly liked the Girgen-tina and Gellewza Frizzantes. He also passed very favourable com-ments on other wines made from the international varieties such as
the two I.G.T. Maltese Islands Mal-tese Falcon red and Pjazza Regina red as well as the three D.O.K. Malta Medina Vermentino Zibibbo and the barrel-matured Gran Cava-lier Merlot and Syrah wines.
This year’s Delicata wine festival, which broke all previous attendance records on all 4 nights of the event, was highly praised by the CNBC news team who stated that they had been taken totally by surprise, both by the quality of the Delicata wines and the atmosphere of the festival itself. They also com-mented on what a great showcase the festival is for Maltese wines and how unique and impressive such an event is, especially since it is all organised by one single producer at such an exclusive venue.
After his visit, the TV host of CNBC World’s Wine Portfolio pro-gramme posted these comments on his Facebook page: “While in Malta, we attended Delicata’s annual ‘Clas-sic Wine Festival 2010’. WHAT an amazing night. The bands, the food, the venue and of course the wines. I have to say Malta absolutely makes great wines”.
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79November 2010
At two thirty in the morning on Friday 3rd September, the last staff transport left Floriana, taking home an exhausted but proud team of waiters, chefs and support staff to finally get some well-earned rest after what can only be described as the Goliath of all catering jobs (at least in Malta). What was left on the Fosos in Floriana was a cleared deck. Only three hours earlier 450 round tables, 450 tablecloths, 4200 banquet chairs, 4200 white napkins, 4200 white chair covers and 24000 glasses were still laid out across the expanse of the Granaries. The team, comprising staff from across Island Hotels Group, came togeth-er under the hat of Island Caterers and concluded what had been one amazing conference group.
The Oriflame Convention is the largest congress to have visited Malta, comprising 4200 delegates. The catering for fifteen events during the week was entrusted to Island Caterers, who for the last six months have exhaustively planned the fine points of each event, ensur-ing that all the logistical details were covered in the operational plan. The delegates arrived on Sunday and each event and activity was ticked off the list as it was set up, executed and dismantled.
The last event was the biggest one - a Gala dinner served on the uneven footing of the Floriana Granaries. The catering set-up itself was a process that lasted two days, where every table had to be posi-tioned to an exact spot; each chair enclosed in a white chair cover, and then the linen went on followed by the cutlery, the flatware and the centrepieces. All this was completed by Wednesday night and covered
You Are Only as Large as Your Last EventIsland Caterers Takes on Goliath of Catering and Wins
in plastic sheeting. At 16.00hrs on Thursday the team met on site and detailed briefings and section assign-ments were followed by the final checking of tables.
The chefs had been busy for a week, preparing each menu item, ensuring that the correct quanti-ties were prepared and the per-fect amount of seasoning added. Three menus would be served on the night - each had to be perfect in taste, quantity and presenta-tion. Trucks were driven into the back and unloaded. Sauces were prepared on site so as not to lose flavour, as was the pasta in order to be served “al dente”.
At 19.00hrs guests started to ar-rive and as with all catering events, service kicked in one step at a time, each of the four sections individually managed, however synchronised to perfection to operate as one. The starter was followed by three differ-ent pasta dishes; the main course (served silver service) was fillet of beef for 3950 and fillet of veal for 250; finally dessert followed by cof-fee and petits fours closed the meal.
All this was of course synchronised with awards being presented as well as a fantastic show taking place on the stage. All done by eleven thirty!
The feedback from the dele-gates was great, the organisers were delighted and the Malta convention hailed as the best Oriflame have had in years by the directors during their final presentations. All in all a job well done, made possible by solid teamwork, a positive attitude and a passion for taking on chal-lenging situations and delivering.
Following the conclusion of the event Island Hotels Group Holdings plc Chief Executive Officer Winston J. Zahra com-mented “this was an excellent team effort from all the members of staff within the Group. The fact that the whole team catered at 15 events, including the two largest dinners ever held in Malta, to the full satisfaction of our cli-ent, is testimony to the hard work put in by the whole team. I am very proud of the result achieved and am very grateful to each indi-vidual who played a part”.
80 November 2010
A trend is developing whereby photovoltaic systems, just like industrial solar water heating systems, are becoming a part of the energy plan for businesses seeking to control spiralling energy costs by generating their own renewable source and reducing combustible consumption. Karl Azzopardi tells us why.
Over the past years, hotels have become increasingly effective at implementing measures aimed at improving the efficiency of their operations and conserving energy, with many realising meaning-ful energy savings and improved profitability as a result. Solar thermal systems capture the radiation of the sun and turn it into hot water, PV systems generate electricity from the sunlight, and there’s no doubt that locally there’s enough sunshine to make PV and industrial solar thermal systems a viable option for generating at least some of a hotel’s own renewable energy. As solar electric PV technology and solar thermal systems continue to improve in efficiency and reliability, more hotels are considering adding solar to service their energy needs, while showcasing their concern for the environment.
Good for Althe Right Reasons
For many hotels, adding solar systems offers a visible and prac-tical way to demonstrate their commitment to preserving the environment, beyond the use of organic linens, recycling, energy-saving bulbs and the like. As a result, many of these hotels end up garnering greater media interest and more visible public relations
Solar Solution for Hotels
opportunities. A bonus for opera-tors and guests.
A photovoltaic system generates electricity directly from sunshine without creating any water or air pollution. It is quiet, reliable and relatively easy to install when done by the right professionals. Moreover, PV systems are relatively mainte-nance-free and carry a 20-25 year performance warranty.
A solar thermal system also generates energy (in this case heat) from sunshine. This heat reduces combustible consumption from the plant boiler, therefore reducing air pollution. Quality solar thermal sys-tems carry a ten-year collector war-ranty and are expected to perform for 15 to 20 years.
Various incentives are also furthering the adoption of solar solutions, foremost amongst them is the successful Malta Enterprise managed ERDF Energy Grant Scheme, which provided grants to eligible projects proposed by commercial establishments. We hope to see specific grants aimed at the hospitality sector in the near future.
How It Works:
Under the recently introduced feed-in tariff scheme, the energy generated by the PV is sold directly to the utility at the present pub-lished rate of €0.20 per kWh (unit). L.N.422 of 2010. This scheme creates an investment opportunity with an attractive return rather than just a cost-saving measure.
The solar thermal system is de-signed to reduce the consumption of combustibles as the sun’s radiation captured by the system’s collec-tors is transferred into heat which is stored in specially designed hot water storage tanks normally found inside the building. This energy-saving measure will reduce combus-tible costs with interesting pay-back periods and return on investment.
PV modules and solar thermal collectors can be mounted in vari-ous ways, depending on the location and size of the system, typically on a south-facing roof, on an elevated static frame or ground-mounted. Solar panels can also be integrated into many types of exterior materi-als, including roofs, walls, shadings,
or windows. The goal, of course, is to optimise the maximum solar exposure, which changes depending on the time of year and the location.
After determining the size of the solar system, an estimate which is based on electricity/hot water use and available funds, the first step in developing a renewable energy system design is a site assessment. From there on consultation, system design and implementation even-tually follow. There are two key factors which make a site viable for PV technology: the possibility of southern exposure, with the mod-ules/collectors exposed to the sun as much as possible, usually between the peak sun hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.; and appropriate and sufficient space for the solar system which can be integrated into existing structures.
Karl Azzopardi is a director of Solar Solutions Ltd, which specialises in providing renewable energy solutions to domestic and corporate clients.Email: [email protected]
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83November 2010
Let’s TalkAbout ValuesM Demajo Group has been visionary in establishing hospitality trends, the award-winning audiovisual production The Malta Experience being a pioneer in this multi faceted sector. As the group celebrates its centenary, Zillah Bugeja talks to Group Marketing Director Rachel Balzan Demajo about the relevance of the Group’s core values within its divisions operating in the hospitality sector.
In the 2009 Superbrands Malta publication, the M Demajo Group describes its core values as being accountability, people-centricity, a drive for results and customer focus. How easily is customer satisfaction gauged within the services the Group provides in the hospitality sector?
“Information gathering is pivotal. More traditional methods such as surveys and word-of-mouth are combined with more
elaborate techniques such as ex-ternal climate surveys. Our mar-keting endeavours are all about putting the client first, so cus-tomer satisfaction is a common measurement of success across the board. We take complaints seriously and have a strong work ethic that seeks immediate cor-rective action.”
In what tangible ways does the Group value its people?
“The M. Demajo Group has always been an organisation that depends on its people and strives to empower them towards personal as well as organisational goals. The Group’s mission statement, ‘Together We Achieve Because We Care’ is central to all of this. An efficient HR department that is proactive in establishing career paths and readily available to listen to employees’ suggestions, is what drives this value. Also as a Group
The Malta Experience auditorium. The audiovisual production won the Golden Helm International Award for Tourism in 1993 and the SKAL Malta Tourism Award in 2003.
85November 2010
we have always had a very low employee turnover. People consider the Group as part of their extended family, and this fosters a sense of loyalty and content.”
How does the Group ensure accountability and a results-driven culture?
“We are firm believers in ac-countability. To instil a culture of accountability, one needs to empower people as well as define roles and parameters. This is done through a seamless division of structures, which include commit-tees and departments, as well as higher-level groups including the Board of Directors. Accountability is also largely dependent on targets, and as an organisation we ensure that our middle to senior man-agement are target-driven, which enables them to be more motivated and results-driven too.”
Special Interest Travel Ltd (SIT) is one of Malta’s leading destination management com-panies with over three decades’ experience. How did it fare during the challenge of the recent economic downturn?
“Thankfully SIT was then in a period of consolidation and used its quieter time to re-invest in itself and in its brand identity. It un-derwent a rebranding exercise that sought to extract its unique selling propositions to re-invent itself to bet-ter suit today’s industry requirements.
The company has grown both in employees and in service port-folio and today has a firm market share in both tour operating and leisure travel as well as conference and incentive business to Malta.
SIT Ltd took the strength of its brand and the vision of its people to the next level. By using the power of its brand and the accountability of its teams as well as its reputation, it re-emerged stronger and ready to face the post-recession environment.
What are some of the in-novative solutions that SIT Ltd has come up with over the years to satisfy challenging cli-ent demands?
As you know, SIT operates in a highly creative environment and is always on the look-out for innova-tive products within the overall product that is Malta. It has strong
relations with suppliers across the board, and uses its creative flair to design exciting proposals to intrigue the customer.
Malta is a jewel of a destination, and when seen through the eyes of tourism specialists, it can never fail to impress. SIT’s back office operation is advanced in IT and uses technology to enable faster response times as well as prompt service. Innovation can be seen in its processes, its approach and its solid internal culture that is always ready to go the extra mile, bringing innovation and value to the client.”
The Malta Experience has been established since 1980 and recently modernised its projection system by incor-porating digital video. One of the ongoing upgrades is the
Special Interest Travel Ltd is one of Malta’s leading Destination Management Companies with over three decades’ experience. The company is ISO 9001-2000 certified and Quality Assured by the Malta Tourism Authority. In 2009 SIT launched its rebranded image.
Finish in style
Joseph Cachia & Son Limited, a mem-ber of the M Demajo Group, has been contributing to the progress of the local energy sector in various ways and is now geared up towards sustainable energy and lighting solutions. JCS Ltd is the appointed distributor for the in-novative Pharox LEDs.
Hilton Malta recently replaced the incandescent lamps in six chan-
deliers in the Portomaso conference and ballroom with the Pharox-300 type LED lamp. Over 750 of the 25 watt incandescent lamps with a normal lifetime of one to two years were replaced with the same amount of 6 watt, dimmable LED bulbs. This reduced the installed lighting power in these chandeliers from 18.75kW to just 4.5kW max.
Innovations: LED Lighting
87November 2010
introduction of new languages. What is the decision-making process that determines wheth-er it is worth doing?
“Among its various achieve-ments, The M. Demajo Group is also recognised for its pioneering role in the field of cultural rec-reation. ‘The Malta Experience’, an international award-winning audio visual spectacular has delighted over 4 million visitors since its creation back in 1980.
Now in its 5th edition, this latest theme brings the element of the sea as the island’s natural re-source to portray Malta’s unique 7,000 year history. This new version uses the latest in digital technology combining sensational photography and re-enacted mo-tion clips interspersed through-out the 43 minute presentation. Complementing this version, the company initiated further product development in its multi-lingual system which now hosts 15 simultaneous narrations from a total potential capacity of up to 20 simultaneous narrations, to suit the ever-growing visitor nationali-ties to the island.
The Malta Experience’ is aptly housed within the ‘Mediterranean Conference Centre’ formerly the
‘Sacra Infermeria’ of the Knights of St. John. Today the Centre is open to the general public to ad-mire its architecture as well as its history. Visitors to ‘The Malta Ex-perience’ may extend a nominal fee to also include a visit of the Sacra Infermeria after the show. Guided tours are held regularly throughout the day.
Supplementing the core product, ‘The Malta Experience’ provides its visitors the conve-nience for souvenir shopping offering a varied selection of the more traditional items of glass, filigree, pottery, books and more. Situated at the edge of the bas-tion promontory, the cafe terrace offers majestic land and seascape scenery of Malta’s renowned ‘Grand Harbour’ whilst enjoying a wide selection of tasteful delights.
The Malta Exeperience’s ad-vancement in technology and in innovation, are testament to the core values of the Group. By fo-cusing on the customer, we main-tain a result driven approach.”
The M Demajo Group oper-ates its own watering hole, Q Bar at the Valletta Waterfront. What makes it stand out from its neighbouring competitors?
Q Bar lounge bar at the Valletta Waterfront was quoted by ‘OK Magazine’ as being one of Malta’s ‘hottest venues’.
“Launched in 2007, this unique lounge bar combines style, flair, reputable cuisine and a mix of high-profile party nights to a broad segment of the market. Notwith-standing the passing trade that the Valletta Waterfront has to offer, party-goers follow in the steps of event promoters. A combina-tion of laid-back lounging and weekend partying allows Q Bar to fulfil a host of event possibilities, from themed nights and corpo-rate functions to private parties. Q Bar revolves around customer-centricity. Its very essence is to give the customer quality, choice and unparalleled entertainment. Q Bar has been listed on ‘OK Magazine’ as one of the hottest venues on the island. It’s a refined yet laid-back lounge bar experience, with an excit-ing calendar of events throughout the year that can be accessed from its website www.qbar.com.mt, however, it’s not only local and passing trade that Q Bar targets – the business sector is also actively pursued.
Q Bar’s mix of chic environ-ment and catering by Zest Flavours for private functions is a winning formula for business clients.”
Continues on page 105
89November 2010
The MHRA website offers compre-hensive and strategically displayed information about the Association in the tourism sector, for users to locate easily and efficiently. The homepage, now with more easily accessible online facilities, offers 3 main sections. The ‘MHRA News’ which highlights the various initia-tives and issues that MHRA has addressed during specific periods; ‘Press Releases’ featuring the lat-est 3 press releases issued by the MHRA, as well as the ‘MHRA Di-ary’ which outlines various appoint-ments MHRA has scheduled.
The ‘Our Members’ section features a list of all MHRA mem-
Revamped MHRAWebsite LaunchedMHRA – Malta Hotels & Restaurants Association - is pleased to announce the official launch of its newly revamped website now offering more easily accessible online facilities.
bers, grouped by specific categories of Accommodation Establishments, ranging from 5* Hotels to Guest Houses and Hostels, as well as Food & Beverage establishments from 1st Class Restaurants to 3rd Class Snack Bars and Cafes. Full contact details and images of each establishment can also be found. In addition, this section includes ‘Members Benefits & Costs’ as well as downloadable Membership Application Forms for both Hotels and Catering Establishments which wish to become members.
The ‘List of Associate Members’ includes details of all MHRA As-sociate Members, the benefits and
costs of becoming a Gold, Silver or Bronze Associate Member and a downloadable Associate Member-ship Application Form. Users also have access to press releases dating back to 2006, which can be found within the ‘Archived Press Releases’ for easy reference. An interactive ‘Location Map’ has also been in-tegrated, together with a printable version showing full contact details in order to locate the MHRA of-fices easily.
An exclusive section is ac-cessible to MHRA members only, through a secure log-in and password, featuring the quarterly BOV MHRA Survey by Deloitte. Circulars sent out to Members dating back to 2006 are also avail-able. Additional documents will be included on an ongoing basis throughout the year.
During the launch, Mr. George Schembri, MHRA CEO, congrat-ulated Mr. Frankie Spiteri MBA (E-Business), Managing Director of Hospitality Web Systems, for his team’s professionalism, efficiency and continuous support through-out the years. Mr. Schembri also commented: “E-commerce is a vital tool to be able to main-tain competitiveness within the hospitality industry. If used wisely and consistently, it is a cost-saving measure and revenue generator, an investment for all operators’ long-term future”.
90 November 2010
Quadriga provides guests with a gateway to a world of information and content delivered through the TV and guest laptops as well as Wifi solutions. The extensive knowledge that Quadriga has acquired from experience and from direct contact with hoteliers coupled with the use of the latest digital technology has resulted in the developing of a new system - Quadriga Sensiq.
Quadriga’s Sensiq has been created from a smarter under-standing of the guest, and real recognition that hotels need to differentiate their guest experi-ence to influence heightened guest satisfaction and loyalty. Quadriga Sensiq is a powerful internet-based guest communica-tions portal which can be unique-ly tailored to each hotel to create a distinctive guest experience and provide a new and practical way of creating additional revenue op-portunities. This will be delivered via a combination of video, web links and specially created pages in a powerful Content Manage-ment System, integral to Sensiq.
The TV can be used to promote and sell hotel facilities and services and drive business objectives. By at-tracting more guests with the most engaging user interface, hotels can derive additional revenue from sell-ing bookings for the spa, gym and dining facilities, room reservations and driving guests to the hotel e-shop. Sensiq has the flexibility built in to allow the portal to be adapted as business priorities change. Sensiq also allows the incorporation of per-sonalised hotel video, background music and promotional messages to
SensiqThe Intelligent Guest Portal
attract and engage guests.Sensiq is intuitive, easy to use
and provides a truly multi-sensory guest experience, delivering the best possible browsing experience. With a consistent combination of sliding menus and grids and a remote control with a simple touchpad for internet browsing, navigation couldn’t be easier or more intuitive. Hotel and local information is provided as a digital concierge service where hotel com-munity information can be found amongst applications for news and weather or web radio stations from around the world.
Guests can enjoy a range of superb quality on-demand enter-tainment, with a minimum of 254 movie titles – including HD titles – choosing from multiple entertain-ment genres and categories care-fully selected to give choice, variety and a range of selection options to suit the different needs of today’s time-limited guests. Sensiq also pro-
vides more than 200 channels which can all be accessed quickly and simply. Dynamic TV further ensures guests have immediate access to TV channels in their own language.
A range of essential and conve-nient Guest applications, including climate control, wake-up via the TV and express check-out ensure a stress-free and relaxing experi-ence for guests whilst a range of Hotel Management applications ensure operational efficiencies for the hotel.
Quadriga creates a memorable guest experience whilst making hotel operations easier and more cost-effective.
For more information and a free con-sultation contact:Sarah ZarbSecurity Gate 1, Malta International AirportTel: +356 2125 7127/8Web: www.falconalliance.comEmail: [email protected]
Experience it.
T (356) 2355 2355 · F (356) 2355 5666E [email protected] · W www.dolmen.com.mt
QaWra sEa FronT · sT. Paul’s Bay sPB2402 MalTa
The Dolmen Resort Hotel embodies the powerful lure of the island, fusing past and present seamlessly, with plentiful bars, 5 pools, an all night casino, conference centre, watersports, spa and clubs all swirling around an authentic Neolithic Dolmen that stands undisturbed in the landscaped gardens. Like Malta, The Dolmen Resort Hotel can offer you everything for every mood and welcomes guests to bask in this perfect sun haven.
The Oracle Conference Centre is one of the largest, first rate, purpose built conference centre ready to accommodate 1200 delegates. Conference style is flexible with a choice of a theatre layout or smaller meetings split into a main hall and 5 sound - proofed syndicate rooms. The Oracle Conference Centre is also transformed into a first - class banqueting hall for sumptuous events where attention is on every detail.
Gen Ad.indd 1 10/20/2009 10:44:53 AM
When faced with the decision of purchasing the right product from the world of technology we are faced with a thousand and one questions. Is this the right product? Does it give me what I want from it? Is it cost-effective? Will it be obsolete in a few months? Does the supplier have the knowledge and expertise to repair and maintain? Does the supplier understand my needs? Are the technicians qualified and trained for installation?
Over the years, Studio 7 has accumulated a number of meth-odologies that are used to select products and solutions. With in-depth knowledge of how to listen to a customer, Studio 7 can pres-ent reliable and consistent results, with regard to product availability and price. With first-hand experi-ence of brands, the services offered include consultancy, installation,
technical advice for users, com-missioning, calibration, scheduled maintenance and training.
The products available from the Studio 7 catalogue range from audio controls, amplification, video installations for classrooms, confer-ence rooms and boardrooms, video conference facilities with superb ease of use for the non-technical, customised motorised curtain rail tracks for homes, schools, theatres and halls to the latest state-of-the-art lighting technology.
Apart from this, Studio 7 ser-vices the entertainment industry with a specialiaed electronic bar tap system which allows bar owners ease and smoothness of operations, control of cash flow and payments, combined with the best in mer-chandise presentation. Gone are the days of wrong measures, unreg-istered free spirit servings, excessive
administration, time spent counting inventory and wastage!
A wide range of branded wrist-bands is also available – allowing special access to guests, controlling open bar entry or simply providing a trendy way to issue a party invitation.
An online mall will soon be launched, offering customers an up-to-the-minute way of searching for a product of their choice and comparing technical specifications and prices. The friendly customer service is at hand to also offer instal-lation and commissioning of chosen products. A guaranteed, impeccable after-sales service will also be acces-sible via the same online mall.
By combining product quality and delivery with over 30 years’ ex-perience, the goal is to consistently deliver the best communication solution for each customer within the product’s life and beyond.
Studio 7
93November 2010
The YES Employability – Young Europeans, Skills for Employabil-ity in Tourism project was success-fully launched on Friday April 30 2010 during a conference held at the Corinthia San Gorg Hotel, St. Julian’s.
The two-year project, aimed at promoting transparency and recognition of competencies and qualifications across Europe in the tourism sector, is financed by the European Union as part of the Leonardo da Vinci Lifelong Learn-ing Programme.
The leading partner of the Project is the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) which hosted the launch conference and the first steering committee meeting held the day before.
The conference was addressed by the Hon. Dolores Cristina, Min-ister for Education, Employment and the Family, Ms Claire Zammit Xuereb, Chairperson of the Insti-tute of Tourism Studies, Mr James Calleja from the Malta Qualifica-tions Council, other local speakers and representatives of the partners in the project.
The YES Project includes eight organisations and institutions from Central European and Mediter-ranean countries with ITS as the lead partner. These include the Centre for Advanced Studies in Tourism (Italy), ARTES srl (a re-search firm from Italy), the Malta Hotels and Restaurants’ Associa-tion, the Portuguese Association of Hotel Directors, SOFATI (a research firm from Portugal), the Technical Institute of Larnaca and the Cyprus Chefs’ Association.
YES Employability Project to Support Employability in Tourism
“Our part in this YES Project is to carry out the dissemination and valorisation of the project,” said George Schembri, CEO MHRA, in explaining the role of MHRA in the project.
The project proposes to tackle the need of the Tourism Educa-tion and Vocational Training sector for a workable system of valida-tion, transfer and recognition, of skills and competencies achieved under formal, informal and non-formal circumstances, expressed in transferrable units, and that can be linked to national and European frameworks presently in use.
The YES Project seeks to extend the work already carried
out in a prior Leonardo da Vinci project, NEW Hospitality, which, during 2006-2009, carried out research and testing and developed an online database of minimum competences which allows the guided compilation of the Euro-pean curriculum vitae. The YES project intends to transfer this in-strument to a new spectrum of ben-eficiaries and integrate the database application with other Europass tools besides the CV. The project also proposes to integrate this new product within educational and vocational training programmes in order to facilitate their adjustment to European credit transfer and recognition procedures (ECVET).
The Hon Dolores Cristina addressing the conference
Ta’ Xbiex Seafront, Ta’ Xbiex
The new YES Project aims at the experimental processing and application, through their adapta-tion and transfer, of some of the products of New Hospitality. The YES project proposes the inte-gration of a number of systems developed through the previous NH project with the already famil-iar and widely-used instruments developed at a European level (such as the Certificate Supplement and the Europass Mobility), for validation, transfer and recognition of learning outcomes achieved in formal, informal and non formal contexts. The development of such instruments would serve to encour-age the design of educational and training programmes that call for a detailed programming of learning outcomes and which would neces-sitate, as a reference, qualifications expressed in transferrable units that can be linked to the National and European framework in use today.
The direct targets of the YES Employability Project are operators
(tutors, trainers, teachers, guidance counsellors) who supply training, guidance and placement services to subjects who are part of the educational and vocational training system, who intend to enter the hospitality labour market and who envisage the need for mobility; and young people interested in the tourism sector.
The indirect targets are public or private operators in the hos-pitality sector: businesses, trade unions and employers’ associa-tions, political decision-makers who regulate orientation, training and the labour market.
More information from the project website at www.yesemployability.eu
97November 2010
Regional Developmentfor Sustainable TourismRecently the MBB and the MHRA held a seminar entitled Regional Development for Sustainable Tourism, during which a number of issues relating to the sustainability of the local tourism sector were discussed.
Mr John A. Huber, President of the Malta Business Bureau, opened the half-day seminar by stating that it was necessary to make an effort to re-create an image for Malta and to exploit its historical and cultural richness to the full. To reach this de-sired objective it is important to use all the resources and the potential of all stakeholders interested in increas-ing the tourism-based economy of the islands of Malta and Gozo. He
also highlighted that “today’s busi-ness world has become intelligent, interconnected and instrumental. Tourism still retains a soul; a human soul that us Maltese, us Mediter-raneans, us Europeans hold dear and cherish. Hence my conviction of success, in what we endeavour to do, no matter how courageous and ambitious it may be.”
In his address, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that the
present is a challenging time for Europe’s tourism industries. This also applies to Malta. If the island is to build on the success achieved so far, there is need for a concerted
From left to right: Mr. Michel Laine, Ms. Marlene Bonnici, Ms. Maria Joao Rauch, Mr. George Micallef, Ms. Marie Louise Mangion
98 November 2010
effort by all stakeholders and at all levels – “this is the only way that Malta’s tourism industry will de-velop in a competitive and sustain-able manner.”
Dr Gonzi also made reference to the significant contribution of the tourism industry to the local economy and called on all stake-holders to face challenges with determination, and above all inno-vation, with a clear drive to deliver a quality product and service. “In-novation and dedication, to ensure the best customer satisfaction, will be the key to the future success of the industry – we need to capitalise on our uniqueness, on our culture, on our heritage, and on our Medi-terranean environment,” he stated.
The Prime Minister also high-lighted the fact that the tourism industry is a clear example of the need to reconcile economic growth with sustainable development, and explained how government has, to date, invested over €26 million in regional development projects. “Financial investment is needed for the industry to tap niche markets and for innovative ideas to become reality and, for this reason, govern-ment has made funds available for this aim,” he stated.
The audience was addressed by a number of other high-profile speakers including Mr Michel Laine, (Head of Unit within the European Commission’s Director-ate General for Employment, Social
Affairs and Equal Opportunities), who spoke about funding op-portunities available to businesses operating within the tourism indus-try. Mr Laine highlighted the fact that Europe is the world’s leading tourist destination, enjoying around 40% of global tourist arrivals, which led to the tourism industry playing a key role in Europe’s economic and social development.
Mr Laine also pointed out that Malta’s dependence on tourism, coupled with the fact that it does not have a very diversified tourist base, makes innovation and the targeting of niche markets all the more important for the sustainable development of the local tourism industry. “The European Union provides essential support when it comes to financing projects that will improve the tourism product – investment in infrastructure and in
training and education are just two examples of the different types of projects that can benefit from EU funding,” he explained.
Mr Francisco Calheiros, the President of LAG Vale do Lima (Portugal) and also President of TURIHAB, the Association of Manor Housing Tourism, also ad-dressed the audience and focused on the development of regional networks and how this innovative approach contributes to the de-velopment of the tourism industry across Europe.
Mr Calheiros explained how he was involved in an innovative project entitled ‘Europe of Tradi-tions’, which brought ten European destinations together to offer a traditional and unique taste of their culture by offering accommodation at a selection of exquisite houses of historical importance. This approach, he explained, targeted visitors who wanted a different yet a qualitative experience that would truly introduce them to the coun-try’s unique heritage, history and culture, allowing the host country to truly capitalise on its unique characteristics.
Mr Calheiros also shared his extensive experience within the Portuguese tourism industry and highlighted the fact that a number of successful projects had come to fruition thanks to the financial assistance made available by the European Union.
Prime Minister, Hon. Dr. Lawrence Gonzi
Audience at the Business Seminar during the Prime Minister’s address
PREFERRED SUPPLIERS’ LIST
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Corporate Associate MembersSimonds Farsons Cisk plcE-mail: [email protected]/Product: Beer, Bottlers& Catering Operations
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VISET Malta plcE-mail: [email protected]/Product: Operators of the Valletta Cruise Terminal & Valletta Waterfront
Bank of Valletta p.l.c.E-mail: [email protected]/Product: Banking & Financial Services
GOE-mail: [email protected]/Product: Communications & Entertainment
DeloitteE-mail: [email protected]/Product: Audit, Tax Advisors, FinancialAdvisory Services, Management Consultants
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KPMGE-mail: [email protected]/Product: Audit, Tax & AdvisoryServices
Paragon EuropeE-mail: [email protected]/Product: Consultants in EU Funding and Applications
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ChooseMalta.comE-mail: [email protected]/Product: Online Travel Portal
Deco GroupE-mail: [email protected]/Product: Manufacturers of Wall Frames& Mirrors. Distributors of Vitality frozen Juicesand Coffee. Supplier of Horeca Concepts.
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Falcom Group Ltd.E-mail: [email protected]/Product: Supply and Installation of TV Networks & TV Sets, Satellite, Head-end, Electronic Card Locks, Pay TV Systems, Safes, CCTV & Mini Bars & EMS
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Vivendo GroupE-mail: [email protected]/Product: Furniture, Residential, Office & Commercial: Door, Project Manager
100 November 2010
George Micallef, MHRA president, spoke about EU funding opportunities that were being made available to the local business com-munity. “EU funding is helping our industry to improve the product and standards and is expediting this process, at a time when disposable capital is in short supply, but the main concern remains the bureau-cratic process it involves to apply, which is further compounded by the administrative procedures im-posed for eligibility.”
“In order to encourage a better and wider take-up, the process needs to be more user-friendly, particularity for micro enterprises, which find the procedures associated with EU fund-ing not only daunting, but sometimes intimidating,” he explained as he spoke about the often overly bureau-cratic procedures that came into play when applying for EU funding.
A panel discussion addressed a theme about ‘Making Better Use of EU Funding’. This was held in the second part of the seminar with Ms. Marlene Bonnici (Director General of the Planning and Pri-orities Coordination Department), Ms. Marie Louise Mangion (Head of the Tourism and Sustainable Development Unit from the Office
of the Prime Minister), Mr Michel Laine and Mr George Micallef, all contributed to the discussion. Ms. Maria Joao Rauch, an expert on EU Funding in the Fields of Local Development, Employment and Vocational Training, moderated the panel debate. This was followed by a number of interventions from the audience present.
The seminar was concluded by an address made by Mr Josef For-mosa Gauci, Chief Executive Officer Malta Tourism Authority.
Later that afternoon Mr Fran-cisco Calheiros and Ms. Maria Rauch, accompanied by the Presi-dents and CEOs of both MBB and MHRA were invited by Fondazjoni Ulied Qormi to experience several activities put up in honour of their visit in the locality of Qormi. The activities were organised by various associations represented within the Fondazjoni Ulied Qormi. The guests were welcomed by a re-enactment representing the proclaiming of Qormi by Grandmaster Pinto. This was followed by a Maltese ‘danza’ with dancers dressed in national costumes. The guests were then led to the St Sebastian Church parvis where a short version of Good Fri-day’s procession was re-enacted. The
group then walked through the nar-row streets in the old part of Qormi and were shown restorations taking place in several small chapels in the area. The guests were also taken to one of the oldest bakeries in the area and shown round the Museum of Antiques in St George’s Church. Eventually the group were taken to St George’s Band Club where, dur-ing a small reception, they met the leaders of all the associations in the Qormi area.
On Saturday morning, the guests were taken to Birgu where they met the locality’s Mayor, Mr John Boxall, and members of the local council of Birgu at the refurbished Auberge de France. They also had the opportunity to see the stables beneath the Auberge populated with live animals, actors dressed in 16th century uniforms and streets decorated for the ‘Birgu by Candle light’ activities that evening.
As a Knight member of the Order of St John, Mr Calheiros confirmed on his departure that he was going to plan to bring over to Malta a group made up of members of the Knights of the Order of St John from Portugal and would like MBB and MHRA to assist in a programme for their visit.
Ms. Maria Joao Rauch, Mr. Francisco Calheiros and Mr. John A. Huber at a traditional Maltese bakery in Qormi
101November 2010
However, here in Malta, the principle of sustainability in tour-ism development is one which we have learned to integrate in our planning and daily business. This, in recognition of the circum-stances prevailing in our small, densely populated archipelago, where development decisions are constantly being taken at the cost of either undeveloped land or the re-use of developed land. Both types of decisions imply that the requisites of sustainability must be brought to the fore if the benefit of the investment concerned is to be maximised.
Sustainable tourism develop-ment fundamentally respects the principle of ensuring that re-sources are used in the best way possible by the current genera-tion so as to ensure that they can continue to be used and enjoyed by future generations.
How are such noble, lofty prin-ciples practically applied in day-to-day tourism management? A few practical examples will suffice:
Our tourism development increasingly seeks to equate tour-
Thoughts AboutRegional Developmentfor Sustainable Tourism
Josef Formosa Gauci – CEO, MTA
The concept of Sustainable Tourism has been a topical subject for quite a few years now, and in certain cases it has had the inadvertent tendency of being used as a blanket term for all types of development to cover it with the coating of respectability which the term ‘sustainability’ evokes.
ism demand with those areas of our product where we have competitive advantage. Hence our success in attracting the dif-ferent motivational segments of tourists visiting our islands. Such segments capitalise on our rich history and culture, our diving sites, our coastal attractions, our English-speaking capabilities and our corporate hospitality infra-structure among others. These are typical examples of identifying what already exists and ensuring its economic viability and long-term survival through sustained tourism demand. This is in contrast with other types of tour-ism development which seek to change destination characters and landscapes to introduce synthetic products which bear no relation to the destination’s character. What we seek to offer to the tour-ist visiting the Maltese Islands is an authentic experience based on the three core values of heritage,
hospitality and diversity.In sustainability terms, this
approach generates a two-fold benefit. Not only does it en-hance visitor experiences, but also breathes new life and the all important revenue streams into products and services which would otherwise have been in danger of obsolescence.
One can cite many examples of this and I will give a few. The first relates to Malta’s rich and extensive inventory of histori-cal sites and monuments, rang-ing from our five thousand year old prehistoric temples to our kilometres long network of sixteenth century fortifications built by the Knights of St. John. The upkeep and maintenance of these treasures poses a huge, almost unrealistic, pressure on our limited resources and, with-out tourism, most of them would simply have been left to suc-cumb to the ravages of time. The
tourists we attract, however, cite Malta’s history and culture as a very high-ranking reason which helps motivate their visit. They are genuinely interested in these sites and monuments and spend money to visit them and their surroundings. Such a relationship has helped fund the maintenance, preservation and presentation of these places in a way which not only positively projects them to current visitors but also preserves them for future ones too.
Tourism which is developed along sustainability principles also helps by giving a new raison d’être to assets whose previous use has ended or was on the de-cline. Let us take Valletta’s Grand Harbour for instance. Tradition-ally a hub of military activity and ship repair until late last century, Grand Harbour started a process of decline which saw its usefulness diminishing year after year. This whilst continu-
105November 2010
ing to be recognised as one of the most impressive deep-water, natural harbours in the world, surrounded as it is by the fortifi-cations of Valletta and the Three Cities amongst others. Activities linked to tourism formulate the vast majority of the initiatives listed for the regeneration of Grand Harbour and include the cruise market, the yachting market and also the introduction of accom-modation, catering, visitor attrac-tions and ferry transport facilities to enhance and increase tourism flows in the area. A holistic vision, soundly based on the principles of sustainable development, which uses tourism activity in its various forms to regenerate an area which was previously in decline.
A parallel with our agricultural sector is also considered relevant. A sector which has long been in decline as it seeks to compete with vastly more efficient, lower-priced competition from the rest of the EU. The vast increase in demand by tourists for authentic local produce and regional spe-cialties has given rise to increased demand for DOK labelling in sec-tors such as viticulture, the birth of a fledgling olive oil industry and the packaging and retailing of a range of products and services, traditionally aimed exclusively at the domestic market, now be-ing aimed also at tourism. Once again, a clear case of contempo-rary tourism flows integrating in a healthy manner with extraneous sectors rather than competing head on with them.
Our seasonality spread is also based on the principle of sustain-able development. Having been long aware of the destructive implications of continuing to channel growth into peak summer whilst contemporarily generating more and more empty, off-peak tourist beds, we have used our segmentation strategy to attract year-round motivational segments that complement each others’
seasonality. This has in turn made us one of the Mediterranean’s least seasonal destinations, allow-ing for the best possible utilisation of existing tourism stock. One ad-ditional spin-off of this seasonality strategy is that it ensures that the different tourism flows make use of different aspects of the Malta product during the course of the year. As a result, our summer tourism concentrates on Malta’s coastal attractions, while our off-peak tourism tends to focus more on the city-culture dimension con-centrating on towns, villages and countryside rather than the coast.
Tourism activity in Malta can also be thanked for the practical application of principles of sus-tainability when it comes to the recycling of properties. Given the relative scarcity of land for de-velopment in Malta coupled with the premium attached to prime tourism locations, this has led to a situation where the vast majority of Malta’s top quality hotel plant is actually located on the site of previously existing, obsolete plant. This leads to destination regenera-tion whilst preventing the spread of development on to undeveloped land whilst existing, obsolete plant sits idle awaiting redevelopment.
At a wider level, the principles of sustainable development from a tourism perspective extend into other areas: the environment: ranging from the protection of the countryside to waste man-agement; sustainable agricultural practices which impact the avail-ability of quality local produce and the attraction of rural tourism are but just two examples of how sustainability and tourism are inextricably integrated.
Nevertheless the challenges remain. Seasonality continues to be a challenge, particularly for destinations such as Gozo and the North of Malta where tourism activity after the summer peak tends to dwindle somewhat. In spite of our small area, we do no-
tice marked variations in tourism inflows visiting our archipelago, with the Harbours area being the least seasonal and Gozo being the most seasonal. The highly developed Harbours area offers a multifaceted tourism experi-ence which enables the attrac-tion of year-round tourism flows, while the north of Malta tends to be more attractive to the peak summer visitor seeking coastal recreation. Having said that, the potential for off-peak growth in these areas, particularly in terms of tourists seeking a holiday expe-rience which is closer to nature, is very strong.
Gozo, which has been designat-ed an Eco-Island, obviously faces the challenge of double-insularity, as a result of which it features a relatively short peak of intensive tourism activity coupled with a low season which is much quieter than that of mainland Malta. We believe that the sustainable tourism development of Gozo’s potential lies in its beautiful, unspoilt town and village cores, its impressively beautiful countryside, its stunning coast and its enviable, laid-back and relaxed way of life which consti-tutes the utopia which most of our city-dwelling, hectic-lifestyle-leading visitors increasingly seek to recharge their spirit and well-being.
Regional development is universally recognised as a strong contributor towards the sustainable development of tourism. Within our relatively small geographical dimensions, we also measure dif-ferences which may claim their ori-gins from the same economic roots attributable to regional differentia-tion in much larger territories.
Avoiding the obvious pitfalls of concentrating development in a destination’s commercial and popu-lation nucleus and ensuring that such development also permeates towards even the more peripheral communities is a tried and tested way of minimising regional discrep-ancies in tourism development.
106 November 2010
At ServgroupWe Serve You BetterAluserv has been a household name for over twenty years. The company is rebranding to Servgroup. MHRA finds out more from founder and managing director Mark Vassallo.
Mark Vassallo’s operation began in 1991, when he began manufac-turing apertures for households in his one-car garage in San Gwann. Within three years Aluserv turned from a one-man band trade name to a ten-strong workforce and a registered limited liability com-pany. By 2002 it employed 23 workers, opened shop in Libya and started producing fibreglass railings. 2006 saw the introduc-tion of solid wood apertures and 2007 iron and stainless steel products were in production as well. All goods are produced by Aluserv Ltd locally and only raw materials are imported.
Servgroup is the only local company to employ a full-time engineer, Mr Edwin Fiott, since 2004. “Our full in-house team has always been a big selling point for the company,” states Mr Vassallo. “Personnel are one of the major strong points of a business and we in fact invest heavily in human resources to ensure we offer the best craftsmanship to our clients.”
During the interview Mr Vas-sallo was proudly showing photos of the big projects that his com-pany has completed, among them The Point Shopping Mall, Malta International Airport, Transport Malta (formerly known as Malta Maritime Authority), Smart City and many others, as well as a multitude of upscale residential
homes throughout the island.Aluserv is already known for
providing high quality, custom made, innovative apertures such as Thermal Break Systems. But on top of this, Mark Vassallo’s operations also consist of Wood-serv and Steelserv to give clients a diverse range of product choices for their homes or place of work.
“We invest around €100,000 in machinery each year to ensure that we remain at the forefront of the sector and keep our place as one of the best recognised
names in the industry,” states Mr Vassallo.
Delivery isn’t where the work ends. The company’s name has also become synonymous with providing exceptional after-sales service to its clients, ensuring that products installed surpass clients’ expectations. “We even offer maintenance services on prod-ucts from other companies,” adds Mr Vassallo, showing just how important this service aspect is to the company.
“We are also introducing an
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optional maintenance agreement on our products under which we will visit the premises every six months and restore it to virtually brand new working order.” He explains that, for example, many people don’t realise that a simple cleaning of the wheels on a door can make it seem brand new again. “People often think that something more serious is wrong with it,” he says. “But just clean-ing a bit of dust away often solves the problem.”
The reason behind the re-branding is simply to merge the three companies under one name so as to inform clients of the dif-ferent services available to them. “Many people know of Aluserv and the good service we offer and the message we want to deliver out there is that Steelserv and Woodserv provide this very same
service,” says Mr Vassallo. “So branding all of them under one name, Servgroup, will shed more light on our skill sets and really show the public what we can do.”
At the end of October, the Prime Minister, the Hon. Dr
Lawrence Gonzi, officially inau-gurated Servgroup, along with a new showroom concept to pres-ent their products and services to the potential client. “We are launching with something rather different,” enthuses Mr Vassallo.
In a culture where home-grown liqueurs are noted by their absence, Bajtra liqueur was the first to be targeted for a mass market. Has it acquired a standing as a must-have taste and experience while in Malta?
“Its prime target audience is very much the refined tourist who wishes to take a taste of Malta back home in the form of a bottle. It is well-priced, easily-found and very typical of the island.
Bajtra is a source of pride for us because it is a product that origi-nates directly from the Demajo family. Bajtra’s formulation has been handed down through the generations of the DeMajo family, whose ancestor Don Giuseppe DeMajo arrived in Malta in 1730 as a knight of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Don Giuseppe died in 1747 and is buried in St John’s Co Cathedral.
Bajtra’s prestige has been greatly enhanced by the award-ing of a Royal Warrant from the Late Eminent Highness the Prince and Grand Master of the Sover-eign Military Order of Malta, Fra Andrew Bertie.”
The above highlights from the Hospitality Sector of the Group are a few practical insights of the brand values that drive the Group’s strategy. Forever mindful of the need to capture trends, in-novate and be different, the Group always puts the customer first. In so doing, it has built a corporate reputation over 100 years that is testament to its Human Resource Strategy in the way it values its people. As a result, it has devel-oped an accountability to its vari-ous stakeholders, including society through its Corporate Social Responsibility program, as well as a focused drive for results.
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Blue CreekThe Restaurant on the Water’s Edge
The family-run Blue Creek Restaurant, overlooking Ghar Lapsi bay, opened its doors and began offering culinary delights eight years ago. The restaurant boasts unique breathtaking views of the islet of Filfla and the cliffs stretching to Wied iż-Żurrieq.
Whilst admiring the breathtaking views from the restaurant terrace remember to order the signature dish - a thick fish soup. Fans of this scenic and elegant restaurant
refer to the speciality as the essence of the Mediter-ranean Sea on a plate. The fish display reflects the daily catch, Maltese delicacies are all sourced from artisanal producers and the vast major-ity of the vegetables used by Blue Creek are grown organically. The menu ranges from fresh salads to mouth-watering pasta, and from meat to vegetarian specialties. The Blue Creek restaurant also stocks a vast selection of international wines to accom-pany the fantastic food. The philosophy of Blue Creek is the belief that service is of paramount importance. Thus, your dining experience will be enhanced by the unobtrusive but exceptionally friendly staff. Business lunches are ideal at Blue Creek if you
want to impress a client and close that deal. On a week-day the atmosphere is more relaxed, with the added bonus of enjoying the awesome views from the terrace.
Blue Creek is open every day except Tuesday all day and Thursday evenings. Lunch is served from 12.00 until 15.00 (last order). Dinner Friday and Saturday from 19.00 until 23.00 (last order)
Blue Creek Bar & Restaurant, Ghar Lapsi, lo Siggiewi.Tel: 2146 2800, 2146 2786 Fax: 2168 2366Email: [email protected]
Mdina Dungeons
The Mdina Dungeons - Malta’s only Dark Walk Crime and Punishment Museum attraction is located beneath the Magisterial Vilhena Palace just inside the main entrance gate to Mdina. Here, in a series of secret underground passageways, chambers and cells, a number of events and the often mysterious circum-stances surrounding them, have been recreated to portray historic events from the dark and turbulent side of Maltese history. From Roman times to the Arabs, the Knights and even Napoleon, one will find
episodes and characters from the ancient past portrayed in startling realism, revealing stories sometimes too dramatic to be believed. The attraction contains full-size figures in period costume supported by display text panels in various languages. Whilst you wander at your own pace, you will discover at every turn, Drama, Mystery and even Horror from dark forgotten days, in an atmosphere of authentic Medieval Dungeons. Location: St. Publius Square, Mdina Opening Hours: Mon – Sun: 9:30am to 4:00pm. Last Admission 3:45pm Tel: 2145 0267; Fax: 2132 2931; E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.dungeonsmalta.com - Languages English, French, German, Italian and Maltese Stopping Time: Average stopping time 15 minutes to 20 min-utes Groups, Conference and Incentives: There are special rates and benefits for groups of all kinds. By special arrangements, the premises can be opened during evenings subject to a minimum pre-determined number.
Fat Harry’s Pub
Fat Harry’s pub has a unique British pub theme décor – walls cluttered with pictures of bygone days, wooden beams, old plank flooring and shelves full of memorabilia for a walk through time. A relaxed atmosphere is always in the air at Fat Harry’s, which also has outdoor seating for summer or for the lovely Maltese winter days. Every night Fat Harry’s boasts some of Malta’s top entertainers besides a Big Screen showing various sports. One can also enjoy a game of darts, domi-noes or cards. The Pub always has a fully stocked bar of local and world renowned beers on draught, wines, cocktails and shooters besides a very good selection of imported spirits competitively priced as house specials. Food prepared in house by our team of chefs using fine local produce and ingredients, is served all day. Fat Harry’s favourite is the Traditional Fish n’ Chips and Mushy Peas followed closely by the famous 200g Harry burger and some very tasty rice dishes. Open every day from 12:00 - 02:00 at Bay Square, Bugibba.Tel: 2157 2163, 2158 1298
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Mirabelle Restaurant
The Mirabelle restaurant has been operated by the Debat-tista family since 1980. In 1999 the restaurant was completely renovated and themed with a cottage style interior, giving you a warm and relaxed feeling the minute you walk in. It is perfect for lunch with friends, a special celebration, or a romantic dinner for two. One can also dine alfresco, with St. Paul’s Islands just across the bay. One of the family, Godwin, is the head chef and he always uses fresh ingre-dients for the good selection of pizza, pasta, salads and succulent steaks. His Spe-cials of the Day have become very popular with our guests. Quality of service is very im-portant at the Mirabelle, and another member of the family is always around, helping out and making sure that all are enjoying their food.
Open every day from 9:30 - 23:30 at Bay Square, Bugibba. Tel: 2157 2163, 2158 1298
Blue Elephant
Enter the Blue Elephant Res-taurant and experience Thai-land! The Blue Elephant is themed on the setting of a traditional Thai village, lush greenery complete with a fast flowing stream. Add to this the renowned hospital-ity of our Thai staff and the famously fresh, healthy and finely spiced flavours created by our master Thai chef, and without doubt you will be transported to the Orient. Open for dinner all week. The Blue Elephant – A whole new authentic dining experience.
Location: Hilton Malta, Portomaso, St Julian’s; Tel: 2138 3383
Pintonino Restaurant
Pintonino Restaurant has a unique character and is very welcoming with a friendly atmosphere. It is well designed and coloured to suit each and every client in a particular way. Our Mediterranean cuisine is at the heart of Pintonino. Deli-
cious and genuine dishes are what make our restaurant so well-recommended. Daily spe-cialities are based on fresh fish which nowadays regular clients order immediately without even glancing at the menu. With 120 covers, Pintonino is a master in the kitchen, producing different kinds of food to suit different types of clients. From business lunches to delegations and family din-ners, Pintonino welcomes the privilege to create and host everyone to his heart’s desire with a touch of inspiration. The Valletta Waterfront is an amaz-ing place with a spectacular view of Valletta Harbour. It is very well kept but I think that with more activities and events it can be more of an attraction, especially for tourists in the summer period.
Pintonino Restaurant Vault 15, Valletta Waterfront,VallettaTel: 2122 7773 Mobile: 9946 8617Email: [email protected]
The British Hotel Restaurant
The British is the longest-established hotel in Valletta, located in one of the city’s quaint terraced streets. This affordable two-star, family-owned and -run hotel
overlooks the magnificent Grand Harbour. The restau-rant, lounge bar and most of the guest bedrooms offer pano-ramic views of this historic and picturesque harbour.
Situated two minutes from Valletta’s prime shop-ping area and no more than five from the island’s ad-ministrative and financial centres, the British Hotel is the ideal base for the holiday-maker and business person alike. The British boasts 44 comfortably furnished guest bedrooms on six storeys - most accessible by lift.
Each room has an en suite bathroom or shower, a writing desk cum dressing table and a telephone for both inter-national and local calls plus, of course, room service. Some rooms have air-conditioning at an extra charge. Also avail-able is a laundry and dry cleaning service; and for the business person, a fax ma-chine is available. Most guest bedrooms also have a balcony overlooking Grand Harbour.
In summer and winter guests can bask in quiet com-fort on a roof-top sundeck, enjoying a snack or a tall, cool drink. In the evening one can relax in the lounge bar or catch up on world news in the television lounge.
Connoisseurs of fine liv-ing can expect exquisite cui-sine and flawless presentation in the hotel restaurant, which offers a delightful choice of Maltese food accompanied by the finest wines.
Friendliness and good service are always appreci-ated when you check into a hotel. At the British this not
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only happens at the reception desk, but guests are treated with friendliness wherever they go in the hotel, mak-ing them feel like one of the family. Enjoy the difference at the British Hotel. 40, Battery Street, Valletta,Tel: 2122 4730/2123 9022 Fax 2123 9711Email: [email protected]. Web: www.britishhotel.com
Mink
Embark on a new adventure, boosted by innovation, brim-ming with bagloads of ideas and bolstered by one of the coolest venues on the rock. Mink is staring you in eye – and expects a friendly wink back. Dress to kill, let dust settle on your desk, dust off your dance moves and create new curves, booty shakin’ to the best of what our resident DJs have to offer. Décor, style, fabulous drinks offers – they’re all there for the taking. Now all that’s needed is you to add a bit more glimmer to this diamond.
Opening Hours: Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11pm till very lateLevel 2, Baystreet Complex, St Julian’sTel: 23722055
The Avenue
Right in the heart of Paceville is one of the busiest and best-known restaurants in the area, The Avenue.
The menu is varied and offers Pasta, Pizza, Burgers, Salads, Fish and Meat dishes. There is a choice of Grills and Chicken dishes as well as a good selection of large, genuine, mouth-watering Pizzas. The Avenue also offers vegetarian Pasta and Pizza. A choice of Italian Desserts is the perfect way to finish off your meal.
A must-visit restaurant where you will certainly not be disappointed. Ideal for parties. Mostly popular with locals.
Open daily from noon to 2:30pm and 6:00pm to 11:30pm. (Closed for Sun-day lunch).Gort Street, Paceville.Phone: (+356) 2135 1753, (+356) 2137 8731 Fax: (+356) 2138 2407 E-mail: [email protected]
The Carriage
The Carriage is not a new name to the discerning diner. Situated on the fifth floor of a typical Valletta apartment building and overlooking spectacular views of the city, Manoel Island and Sliema, you will be welcomed by the interior’s comfortable and stylish décor and the romantic atmosphere of the outdoor terrace.
At The Carriage, new dishes are introduced regular-ly and the menu is innovated twice a year. Your taste buds will be tantalised immedi-ately with starters such as different types of homemade ravioli, fresh seafood salad or a heart-warming soup of the day. The main courses are predominantly French and Mediterranean, with an occasional Oriental twist, and can be sampled in the form of freshest fish recipes and a variety of meat dishes. Finally, end your meal with one of the Carriage’s impossible-to-resist desserts.
The Carriage is a suitable venue for any dining occasion - perfect for a discreet business lunch and a wonderful ambi-ence for a romantic dinner.
Valletta Buildings/5, South Street,Valletta VLT 1103Opening times: Mon – Fri 12.00 – 14.30
Fri – Sat 19.00 – 23.00Tel No: 2124 7828Fax No: 2122 3048Email: [email protected]
La Rive
Just a few steps away from the hustle and bustle of the Sliema shops, La Rive offers its clientele a chillout lounge serv-ing exquisite food and wine. Its chic ambience presents a clean design with beautiful views of the high, well-lit bas-tions of Valletta and Manoel Island. This tranquil wine bar is wonderfully lit up by candles at night, perfect for enjoying a glass of wine and nibbles, and suitable for a quick getaway for a bite at lunch. An appetising selection of dishes varies from Ravioli Asparagi to crispy beef salad or Chicken Caesar to a delicious ciabatta. One may also choose from the extensive daily specials and vegetarian alternatives are available. La Rive offers an extensive wine list of 100 local and foreign wines as well a fully equipped bar and comfy seating, either on the melt-into leather sofas or the bucket chairs. La Rive also caters for private functions.
Opening hours:Monday to Sunday From 10.00 a.m. to 01.00 a.m
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La Rive 33-34, Tigné Sea-front, Sliema. Tel: 2131 8323, 9944 5102 email: [email protected]
Tal-Familja
If you are looking for the fresh-est seafood, fresh fish and tasty Irish beef steak and you want to spoil yourself, Tal-Familja Restaurant is the place to dine.
We serve a variety of seafood and shellfish that is brought in daily from local seafood markets.
The restaurant’s most popular starter is the antipasti of shellfish and this is usually followed up with a grilled or poached fresh fish or a mouth-watering prime cut Irish beef steak accompanied with side dishes of roast potatoes, grilled fresh vegetables and freshly- made salad.
Our home made desserts include panna cotta, crème brulée and hot chocolate pud-ding served with a scoop of ice-cream.
Guests can choose to sit
outside on the terrace enjoying country views or inside in cool air-conditioned comfort. Early bookings are recommended!!
We are now accepting reservations for staff parties...have a look at our staff parties set menus on our website. You can also join us on Facebook.
Open Tuesday - Sunday 11.00 - 23.30Mondays closed all dayTriq il-GardielMarsascalaTel: 2163 2161 - 9947 3081Website: www.talfamiljar-estaurant.com
Star of India / Guang Zhou
Established in 1977, the Beachaven Complex has always been a great loca-tion for fine dining and picturesque views out across Xemxija Bay.We boast two restaurants which specialise in two major cuisines, namely The Star of India for excellent Indian cuisine and Guang Zhou specialising in Chinese cuisine. With a large selection of both freshly prepared and mouth-watering dishes you are sure to find food of the highest quality. Our experi-enced chefs will be only too happy to accommodate your
taste should you prefer either a milder or hotter dish.
The opportunity to expe-rience two excellent cuisines while enjoying a beautiful sea view awaits you in Xemxija, St. Paul’s Bay.
Both restaurants are open 7 days a weeks from 19:00 till 23:00 and open for Sunday Lunch (1st Oct - 31st May) from 12:00- 15:00Xemxija Hill, St. Paul’s BayTel nos: Star of India - 2157 3682, Guang Zhou - 2158 5141
KuDéTa Lounge Bar
KuDéTa Lounge, at Le Méridien, offers a chic venue to meet up with friends. The pleasant smoking area is an as-set for all, as it is also perfectly separated from the non-smok-ing main bar. KuDéTa terrace offers stunning views over Balluta Bay. The Lounge, sprinkled with contemporary art, provides a fashionably fun atmosphere for all. Browse through a healthy menu of
salads, sandwiches and whole-some snacks; or indulge in a comforting moment with a sumptuous selection of wraps and cakes. Happy hours and other treats are available.(Call 2311 2254 for more info). Open daily from 9am till 1am.39, Main Street, Balluta Bay, St Julian’s STJ1017Tel: 2311 0000Email:[email protected]
Grill 3301
The newest eatery, Grill 3301 at the Corinthia Beach Resort, St. George’s Bay, has a charming, warm ambiance and stunning views of the bay. It’s a good place to relax and enjoy beautiful seafood and steak with a bottle of wine.
The menu includes plenty of fresh seafood dishes, a fine selection of meats, includ-ing Aberdeen Angus, Wagyu style and Charolais and the menu also offers something for people of all budgets, including imaginative pasta dishes, from Atlantic lobster tagliatelle with cherry toma-toes to spaghetti bottarga with Sardinian grey mullet and Tuscan olive oil.
The wine list covers the regions of Chile, Argentina,
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Australia, Lebanon, Spain, France, Germany and Italy.
Divine desserts, including a refreshing sorbet medley with honey, orange and thyme, and the to-die-for Val-rona chocolate tart with ice cream, won’t disappoint.
Along with the fact that there is always ample park-ing nearby and no children under seven are allowed, the Grill3301 has all the perfect ingredients to make a perfect restaurant.
Grill 3301, St. George’s Bay St. Julian’s. STJ 3301. Phone: 2370 2537 or 9999 3232 Email: [email protected] Open for dinner Tuesday to Sunday 7:30 till late.
The Sun in Splendour
The Sun in Splendour Pub is well known with the British, especially with the long-stays or ‘the golden oldies’ and the expatriates who served in Malta during the war.
With the young genera-tion of students (Maltese and foreigners) it is widely known as ‘The Beer Garden’.
We offer reasonable prices on all drinks as well as happy hours on beer and
spirits, nearly all day. The Pub is open from 11:00am till late evening, with live entertainment every Monday, Thursday and Friday – offer-ing good music from the 60’s and 70’s and today’s music in a friendly atmosphere. Meet our local and foreign regulars who are part of the furniture like Mr. Magoo, Lilly (can’t cook won’t cook), Betty with two t’s, Peggy, taxi for Angie and Alice…
‘The Sun in Splendour Pub with The Beer Garden’
Ross Street, St Julian’s.Tel: 2138 1959 / 2137 3387Email: [email protected] Open every day from 11.00am till late
La Pappa
A newly opened family res-taurant in Qui-si-sana, Sliema, serving Pasta, Pizza, Salads and Grills accompanied by local and foreign wines. La Pappa is situated just off the Sliema front, overlooking the sea and offering a friendly atmosphere.
The restaurant is split on 2 levels and can cater for 120 diners. It is open 7 days a week for Dinner from 17.00-23.30 and also for Lunch on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from
noon till late. For bookings please contact Desmond on:Qui-si-Sana,Sliema SLM 3110Tel: 2722 1122Mob: 9983 1607Email: [email protected]
Bottega del Vino
Situated within the Oceana Restaurant at the Hilton Malta, the Bottega del Vino offers a rustic and informal ambience where tasty Mediterranean meals complement the exten-sive selection of wines, special-ising (as the name suggests), in a variety of labels from the finest vineyards worldwide.
When it comes to choosing a wining and dining venue, the Bottega del Vino makes for a great choice, given its extensive world wines, tempting food menu and the décor, which is reminiscent of all one can desire from a five-star hotel wine bar.
Opening Hours:Monday to Sunday12:30 till 23:00
Hilton MaltaPortomaso, St. JuliansTel: 2138 3383
Passa Parola
Passa Parola has been well es-tablished in Bahar ic-Caghaq for a number of years. A year ago, it was taken over by new management and is now a family-run concern. The main cuisine is Mediterranean with a selection of fresh fish in season.
There is a vast selection of local and foreign wines on offer to suit any palate. The restaurant caters for 90 diners, 50 indoors and 40 outdoors. It is open daily except Mon-days from 18.00 till 23.30, and on Sunday for lunch from 12.00 till 15.30.5, Xatt il-Palm,Bahar ic-CaghaqTel : 2137 7939 / 2131 4852 Mob : 9945 9950
The Villa
Formerly the summer resi-dence of one of Malta’s lead-ing 20th century industrialists, Antonio Cassar Torreggiani, otherwise known as “ïs-sur Tonin”, the Villa overlooking
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Balluta Bay has now been converted into a stunning Wine Lounge & Restaurant.
Under new management, the Villa is being run by mem-bers of the Cassar Torreggiani family and Adolf Anastasi, an established restaurateur.
Built in the 1800s as a peaceful seaside abode, the Villa has been transformed into a multipurpose cater-ing establishment that offers extensive indoor and outdoor dining to suit any occasion. Featuring a refined restaurant, wine lounge, massive seafront terraces as well as private function areas, the Villa is orientated towards delivering quality food and service in a relaxed and friendly atmo-sphere. Sample our original platter and bistro menu with flavours from around the globe together with a choice of over 160 wines to please even the most discerning of wine lovers. With free parking facilities in the adjacent car park you will find The Villa stylish and chic yet surprisingly affordable.
The Villa, 39, Main Street, Balluta Bay, St. Julian’s.Tel: 23112273Email: [email protected]: www.thevillamalta.com
Opening Times:Monday to Sunday Dinner 19.00-0100Saturday & Sunday Lunch 12.00-1500
Du Port Restaurant
Situated opposite St. Paul’s Island by the quay, the Du Port Restaurant caters for 120 covers on the ground and first floor plus 40 more outside.On offer is an assortment of fresh fish and pasta as well as grills. Besides an extensive list of foreign and local wines to complement the excellent food, there is also a bar with a wide range of spirits and beers.
Opening Times: Every day from 9:30 till late except Tuesdays 17:30 till 23:00Address: 49, Bognor Beach, St. Pauls BayTel: 2157 3191Mob: 9944 6323Email: [email protected]
Mozzarella’sFriendly service with a smile :-)
The menu offers a variety of favourites like the famous tradi-tional Crispy Pizza, great Pasta and BBQ’ed succulent Grills and choices further extend to
fantastic dishes like Honey Glazed Spare Ribs, Chicken Wings and great salads like Chicken Caesar’s and the Toro Salad made from Chargrilled prime beef. This restaurant hits all targets, young and young at heart, whether you’re a pizza lover, a meat lover or you sim-ply love all sorts of home-made goodness. Mozzarella’s can be booked for just about any get-together; it’s particularly popular for Birthdays, Reunions, Hen and Stag parties and more.
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday all day till lateLevel 2, Baystreet Complex, St JuliansTel: 23722055
Da Nicole Restaurant
Da Nicole Restaurant is situated in Bugibba Main Square. You can dine al fresco with a nice sea view or in the restaurant which is fully air-conditioned.
Da Nicole caters to all tastes - you can have breakfast, lunch or full dinner. We pecialise in fresh fish and Maltese dishes, prices are reasonable and you can be served any time from 9am till late at night 7 days a week.
Da Nicole RestaurantBugibba Square, BugibbaTel: 2720 7005
Pavilion & Pavillon Palace
A great discovery for anyone who loves Oriental food – The Pavilion in Ta’ Xbiex and The Pavillon Palace in St. An-drews are two fantastic res-taurants with a super reputa-tion for Chinese cuisine. The menus in both eateries are extensive, in typical Chinese fashion. An à la carte menu and a variety of set menus are also available for you to mix and match, ideal if you are dining with a big group of friends. For the really big eaters there is also the grand buffet every Saturday evening and Sunday lunch at The Pavillon Palace in St Andrews, and every Friday evening and Sunday lunchtime at the Pavilion in Ta’ Xbiex. The buffet offers a choice of soup, starters and a quarter duck for every 2 people, several main courses (including rice and noodles) and dessert. Priced at €17.70 per person (chil-dren between 6 and 10 pay half price), this is definitely a good deal. Booking is recom-mended.
If you are in the mood for dining from the comfort of your couch, both restaurants offer FREE home delivery at a 10% discount and a FREE bottle of wine with every €70 spent on take-away. Business lunches are available at €5.12
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per person and also include free delivery.
Pavillon PalaceSt. Andrews RoadSt. AndrewsTel: 2137 0403Mob: 9949 3580
Opening hours: Monday – Saturday Dinner 18:30 – 23:30 (Except Tuesdays)Sunday Lunch 11:30 – 14:30 (Winter only)
PavilionAbate Rigord StreetTa’ XbiexTel: 2131 7342Mob: 7930 9880
Opening hours: Tuesday – SundayDinner 18:30 – 23:30Sunday Lunch 11:30 – 14:30 (Winter only)
Fontanella Tea Gardens
Fontanella Tea Gardens has been famous for the last 30 years for delicious teas and coffees, together with mouth-watering delights and delec-table home made cakes.
One can sit back and enjoy scrumptious treats while enjoying spectacular, panoramic views. Cosy indoor seating is also available for
colder weather. Come and pay us a visit, we are open all day including Sundays.
Also open in the evenings is our new wine bar which is open everyday from 8pm except Sundays.
Opening Hours :Summer: Mon to Sun 10.00-23.00Winter: Mon to Sat 10.00-18.30Sun 10.00-20.00Tel: 2145 4264Fax: 2145 0208
Browns
With its unbeatable location in Malta’s capital city, on the Valletta Waterfront, Browns Malta boasts stunning views of the Grand Harbour.
On offer is a variety of tantalising dishes, and every Monday, Tuesday and Sunday evenings you pay only 50% of your total food bill. Browns also caters for all types of activities at very reasonable prices. The right venue for an unforgettable wedding, with the sun setting over the stunning Mediter-ranean Sea.
Open: 7 days a week 9.00 till late (kitchen open all day)After midnight Browns turns into the hottest club on the island.
Bookings recommended.
Tel: 2122 7410Mob: 9949 2510Web: www.browns.com.mt
The Tudor Inn Bar and Restaurant, Marsascala
The Tudor Inn is a seafront bar overlooking Marsascala Bay. It is a friendly English-style bar serving wines, spirits & cocktails. A selection of home-made food is also served from 12 till 6pm Wednesday to Sun-day. A traditional Sunday Roast with Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes and fresh vegetables @ 7.95 is served from 12 till 4pm. Booking is advisable on tel 27636301. Parties of up to 24 are catered for and Thurs-day is Quiz Night at 8.30pm. Live football matches are also screened.
Opening Hours:Monday 5pm till 1amTuesday 4pm till 1amWednesday – Sunday 12noon till 1am.
52, Salini StreetM’Scala
Tel: 2763 6301Mob: 9952 0844
Heat Bar/Diner
When one mentions the Valletta Waterfront the first name that comes to mind is HEAT as it was the first restaurant/bar that opened in this picturesque location in the Grand Harbour. HEAT bar & diner since the be-ginning of its operation has offered tasty food in casual surroundings at a price to suit all pockets. The selection on offer ranges from pasta to salads, grills etc.
After midnight HEAT changes into a bar/club where one can dance all night long with resident DJs and amaz-ing light effects.
Heat bar/dinerVault 16Valletta Waterfront
Open from 09:30am till 04:00amBreakfast-Lunch-DinnerTel: 2124 2400Email: [email protected],mtWeb: www.heat.com.mt
Venues
115
Entertainment & Culture
November 2010
Pepe Nero Restaurant
Pepe Nero is not one but two restaurant concepts, closely knit yet distinctly different. A Pizza-Pasta place flanks an à la carte restaurant yet restaurant manager Ottavio Suda quickly underlines that this is no ordinary pizza place, or restaurant for that matter. The pizzeria aims at provid-ing fun to its patrons thanks to a selection of truly mouth-watering pizzas that are flared by Luciano, a top pizzaiolo trained in Italy. His tricks lie in the dough he kneads, which is made of five types of flour including soya, as well as his eye-catching rotating log and gas oven, the only one of its kind in Malta, especially shipped from Verona. San Marzano tomatoes, fior di
latte and bufala mozzarella also form part of Luciano’s ingredients. His oven bakes no less than 15 pizzas in two and a half minutes and as I browse down the pizza menu I also notice a small selection of gluten-free pizzas as well as white pizzas which, as their name implies, make no use of any red tomatoes.
In steps chef Mark Curmi who stresses that no item on his à la carte menu is pre-prepared. All his dishes are freshly made, including the bread, with different types being baked every day, as well as the desserts. Cooked in real time, and served in the al fresco section or in the striking ambience of the dining hall, the main focus of the cuisine is meat and fish of fine Mediterranean quality. The Pepe Nero signature dish would undoubtedly be the Tegamino which takes its name from the earthen-ware pan that slowly cooks a selection of Scottish shellfish which is then covered with a soft, nicely baked pizza base
that one may dip bit by bit inyo the tasty juices of this very attractive fish. Pepe Nero promises and delivers a culinary experience to-gether with the promise of a forthcoming Champagne and Oyster bar.
Open hours:11:00 to 16:00 - Lunch19:00 to 00:00 - Dinner7 Days a WeekValletta WaterfrontVallettaTel: 2122 2220 Email: [email protected]: www.pepenero.com.mt
Scirocco Restaurant
The mind awakens with innovative flavours at Le Méridien. Scirocco Restaurant
reflects a warm Mediterranean scheme and a subtle contempo-rary touch. This 5-star restau-rant presents an astonishing buffet, orchestrated by Execu-tive Head Chef Ruben Grixti, with a focus on healthy living. Themed evenings include a Maltese Night on Wednesdays, live cooking on Thursdays and an amazing plated Fish Night on Saturday. Sunday lunch remains a classic, revisited with style by Le Méridien culinary team. Bookings are recom-mended for week-end nights and can be made by calling 2311 0000 or via email at [email protected]. Indulge in the Le Méridien dining experience.
Open daily from 6.30pm till 10.30pm.
39, Main Street, Balluta Bay, St Julian’s STJ1017Tel: 2311 0000Email: [email protected]
THE RIGHT WHEEL
Siggiewi Road - Zebbug ZBG 2301 - MaltaTel: 2146 0195 Fax: 2146 0195
E-mail: [email protected] www.multitrademalta.com
DirectorySuppliers
116 November 2010
Bakers
Golden Harvest Mfg Co LtdUB21, Industrial Estate,San Gwann SGN 3000Tel: 21 332 391Fax: 21 310 044Email: [email protected]
Gormina Co LtdGormina,Mosta Road,St Paul’s Bay SPB 3111Tel: 21 585 786Email: [email protected]
Breakfast Coffee
Café Bar (Malta) LtdB8A, Industrial Estate,Bulebel, Zejtun ZTN 3000Tel: 21 692 576/7Fax: 21 695 936Email: [email protected]
Breakfast Juices
Café Bar (Malta) LtdB8A, Industrial Estate,Bulebel, Zejtun ZTN 3000Tel: 21692576/7Fax: 21695936Email: [email protected]
S Sadson Co Ltd54, St Francis Street, Qormi QRM 1805 Tel: 21 487 325 Fax: 27 485 493 Email: [email protected]
Carpet & UpholsteryCleaning
Ozosystem Vira Buildings, N/S off Notabile Road, Mriehel BKR 3000 Tel: 21 472 552 Fax: 21 472 553 Email: [email protected] Website: www.ozosystem-malta.com
Catering Supplies
Longbow Ltd22, Triq l-Ahwa Zammit, Qormi QRM 3425 Tel: 21 488 268 / 21 441 877 Fax: 21 492 512 Email: [email protected]
Chairs & Tables for Hire
Gino (Ta’ Hal-Qormi)111, Triq Guze Galea,Qormi QRM 2100Tel: 2148 3041, 9949 2732, 7949 2732Fax: 2149 4433Email: [email protected]: ginotahalqormi.com
Chewing Gum Removal
Gum BustersVira Buildings, N/S off Notabile Road, Mriehel BKR 3000 Tel: 21 472 552 Fax: 21 472 553 Email: [email protected] Website: www.gumbusters-malta.com
Cleaning Material, All Types The Cleaning Centre 27, Garden Street, Gzira GZR 1411 Tel: 21 322 153, 27 005 678 Mob: 99 430 944Fax: 21 332 938 Email: [email protected]
Website:www.thecleaningcentre.net
Coffee Importers
Caffe MolinariCafé Bar (Malta) LtdB8A, Industrial Estate,Bulebel, Zejtun ZTN 3000Tel: 21692576/7Fax: 21695936Email: [email protected]
LavazzaP. Cutajar & Co LtdNotable Road, Mriehel BKR 3000 Tel: 21 448 466 Fax: 21 447 678 Email: [email protected] Website: www.pcutajar.com.mt
Disposables & Food Storage
Di Rocco Ltd Prince Albert Street, Albert Town, Marsa MRS 1045 Tel: 21 227 344 Fax: 21 227 345 Mobile: 99 431 051 / 79 478 222 Email: [email protected] Website: www.diroccoltd.com
DirectorySuppliers
117November 2010
Finesse Ltd A59C, Industrial Estate, Marsa MRS 3000 Tel: 21 239 831 Fax: 21 239 811 Email: [email protected]
Flagpoles/Fences
GlobeTech International36, Torri Lanzon Street,San Gwann SGN 1700Tel: 21 370 371Fax: 21 381 021Email: [email protected]:gobetechflagpoles.com
Flags & Banners
Gauci Borda & Co. Ltd53/54, Msida Road, Gzira GZR 1400 Tel: 21 334 255, 21 313 748 Fax: 21 343 604 Email: [email protected]
Frozen Foods
Food Works P. Cutajar & Co LtdNotable Road, Mriehel BKR 3000 Tel: 21 448 466 Fax: 21 447 678 Email: [email protected] Website: www.pcutajar.com.mt
Garden Landscaping Maintenance
Calamatta Landscapes LtdTriq San Gwann tal-Ghorghar,Ghorghar Valley, San Gwann SGN 2108Tel: 21 382 818 Fax: 21 374 181Email: [email protected] Website:www.calamattalandscapes.com
HoReCa Suppliers
PJ Sutters (Marketing) Ltd.Valletta RoadLuqa LQA3000
Tel: +356 2398 8000Fax: +356 2189 5927Email: [email protected]:www.pjsutters.com.mt
Hotelware Crockery
C & H Bartoli Ltd 9, Empire Stadium Street, Gzira GZR 1300 Tel: 21 331 000 Fax: 21 342 569 Email: [email protected]
Insurance Services
GasanMamo Insurance LtdHead Office Msida Road, Gzira GZR 1405 Tel: 21 345 123 Fax: 21 345 377 Email:[email protected] Website:www.gasanmamo.com
Middlesea Insurance p.l.c Middle Sea House, Floriana FRN 1442 Tel: 21 246 262 Fax: 21 248 195 Email:[email protected]: www.middlesea.com
Oriental Sauces
J & E Griscti LtdImporters, General Merchants & Commercial Agents.“Minerva”, Quarries Street,Msida MSD 1103Tel: +356 21 233 375,21 230 071Fax: +356 2123 6904Mob: +356 9947 6732,9949 9219Email: [email protected], [email protected]
Polishing of Tiles & Marble
OzosystemVira Buildings, N/S off Notabile Road, Mriehel BKR 3000 Tel: 21 472 552 Fax: 21 472 553 Email: [email protected] Website: www.ozosystem-malta.com
Security Systems
Dedicated Micros (Malta) LimitedBLB017, Bulebel Ind. Est., Zejtun ZTN 3000 Tel: 21 483 673 Fax: 21 449 170 Email: [email protected]
DirectorySuppliers
118 November 2010
Solar Water Heaters
Roger Satariano & Son 122, Msida Valley Road, Birkirkara BKR 9024 Tel: 21 492 149 Fax: 21 480 869 Email: [email protected]
Uniforms
Eagle K-wear Co Ltd Notabile Road, Mriehel BKR 3000 Tel: 21 442 329 / 22 581 100 Fax: 21 445 575 Email: [email protected] Web: www.eaglek-wear.com
In Design (Malta) Ltd. Triq it-Torri, B’Kara BypassB’Kara BKR 4019Tel: 2700 8080 / 2149 8860Fax: 2149 4698Email: [email protected]: www.idmalta.com
Teas (Fresh Leaves)
La Via Del TeCafé Bar (Malta) LtdB8A, Industrial Estate,Bulebel, Zejtun ZTN 3000Tel: 21 692 576/7Fax: 21 695 936Email: [email protected]
Wines & Spirits
M. Demajo (Wines & Spirits) Ltd ‘Demajo House’, 103, Archbishop Street, Valletta VLT 1446 Tel: 25 520 000 Fax: 25 522 992 Email: [email protected]: demajowinesandspiritscom
NM Arrigo 44/46 Old Bakery Street, Valletta VLT 1454 Tel: 21 223 755 Fax: 21 239 452 Email: [email protected]
77 Great Estates 23ABT Ltd 27Amazon Ltd 63Anthony Farrugia Ltd 52B&B Construction 101Baketech 44Bank of Valletta 2, 60Bartoli Brothers 60Bits & Bytes 94BT Commercial 19Bugeja Fish Market 50C & H Bartoli 34C D Powersavings Co Ltd 100Café Bar (Malta) Ltd 100CAS Ltd 93Charles Grech & Co Ltd 22Cilia Products 50Cleaning Centre 102Computer Labelling Systems 58Computer Solutions 80Corinthia 8Crown Cold Stores 58Defined Branding 69Delicata Back CoverDeloitte 4Dolmen Resort Hotel 89
Double R Meat Products 50ECB Hotel & Catering Equipment 14Elmo Insurance 56Enba Wines & More 48Falcon 53Fino 24FireTech 21Flock Image 42Frizoll 82Go 70Good Earth 79Grand Hotel Excelsior 12Hilton Malta 6, 86HSBC 102Intercontinental Malta 73J&C Pisani Ltd 33Joseph Cachia & Son Ltd 82Keramit 84Liberty Bakery 50LP Gas Services Ltd 51Malta Enterprise Inside FrontMalta International Airport 65Malta Tourism Authority 76Maltatransfer 94Mammia Mia 92Multitrade 113
Nibe Beverages 50Ozosystem 94P Cutajar & Co Ltd 31P J Sutters (Marketing) Ltd 5, 38, 47, 55, 62, 74Paolo Bonnici Ltd 50PC & IS Ltd Inside Back Pincott Security 58Radisson Blu Resort, St Julians 66Rausi Co Ltd 36Recowatt 40S Rausi Co Ltd 50San Michel 70Servgroup 16Skyline Plastics Works 23Snowhite Laundry 1Solar Solutions 10Special Interest Travel 82Stivala Wholesale 50Studio Seven 90Ta’ Marija Restaurant 82Target Safety Solutions 33The Catering Centre 29Torres 50W J Parnis England 92Zest Flavours (Hotel Juliani) 84
Company Pg Company Pg Company Pg
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Julian JaegerTaking MIA to New Heights
VO
L 2 N
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ber 2010
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18746-Delicata Medina Syrah MHRA Ad.indd 1 06/10/2010 14:58
new
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A q
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of the h
ospitality in
du
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L 2 N
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