Professor Lino Briguglio, who heads the Economics Department of the University of Malta, was guest speaker during the MHRA (Malta Hotels & Restaurants Association) Annual General Meeting. During this meeting, which was held at Hilton Hotel, St Julians on 1 November 2006, Professor Briguglio spoke about the value-added of tourism in the Maltese Islands.

During his presentation, Professor Briguglio discussed the value-added of tourism in terms of its direct, indirect and induced contribution to the economy and described a number of fallacies and contradictions related to the tourist industry in Malta. He then put forward a few suggestions as to how the contribution of tourism could be developed sustainably by focusing on the long term view rather than mere short term gains.

Professor Briguglio stated that expenditure by incoming tourists has a major direct impact on the Maltese economy because it directly contributes about 13% to Malta’s GDP (i.e. to Malta’s economic value-added).

Among the recommendations that Professor Briguglio put forward, he said that the attractions of Malta’s coastal assets ought to be maximized and that beach facilities and management need to be improved. He also believes that alternative tourism ought to be encouraged to attract tourists in winter, by exploring and encouraging different possibilities in this regard, including health tourism, religious tourism and cultural tourism.

Professor Lino Briguglio, Head, Department of Economics,
University of Malta.