Mixed reactions for Ryanair

There were mixed reactions over the past week to reports that low cost airline operator, Ryanair, will commence operations from Malta, writes Julian Zarb in Travel Video News:

..Ryanair’s plan is to launch, on a year round basis, a daily service from London Luton starting on October 31, 2006, a three times weekly service from Pisa also starting on October 31, 2006 and a three times weekly service from Dublin starting on February 9, 2007.

“Ryanair is very pleased to respond to the call by the Maltese government to start routes to and from Malta International Airport (MIA). We have been encouraging the Maltese government to promote the advent of low cost airlines as a solution to the declining tourism industry,” Ryanair deputy chief executive Michael Cawley said. “The provision of a long-term, low cost regime at MIA is crucial to the success of low fares airlines and we welcome the initiatives by the Government to effectively reduce this cost over the long term.”

He also said: “We believe this proposal is the start of a new era for Maltese tourism. The decline, which has been evident in their visitor numbers for some time, will now reverse and that success can be built upon with more growth, which Ryanair is quite prepared to provide to Malta from its various bases throughout Europe in the coming years..

However, not everyone is impressed by Ryanair’s latest move. Malta Labour Party spokesperson Evarist Bartolo was quoted as saying: “These were too few to inject tourism with a new lease of life.” Certainly, many in the industry here feel the potential for a different type of tourist profile for the islands, but, above all, there remains the issue of providing a desirable product and service based on those unique value propositions, which are present in the characteristics and culture of all Maltese-- hospitality, diversity and patrimony or heritage.