MI Global Managing Partner Douglas Barbaro Sant said he noticed a decline in the number of Maltese people seeking careers in the tourism industry but expressed optimism that this situation can be reversed.
The Director of the destination management company said that he noticed a decline in young Maltese people seeking long-term tourism careers.
“This work asks a lot. Odd hours, weekends, evenings, being on call when everyone else has switched off,” he acknowledged.
“Meanwhile, other industries have grown fast on the island and offer something that looks a lot more stable on paper, predictable hours, clear career ladders, and salaries that are hard to compete with early on.”
However, he suggested that many young people don’t know what a job in tourism actually entails and simply group it all under the banner of ‘hospitality’.
“In reality this industry is logistics, problem solving, creativity, and relationship building,” he said.
“It's one of the few jobs where you get to shape how the world experiences your own country. That matters more than it might seem. This industry runs on relationships and local knowledge built up over years, and on people who genuinely know this island inside out.”
"If fewer young Maltese come into it, we're not just short on team members, we risk losing something harder to replace, the local voice in an industry that exists to showcase Malta to the world.”
Mr Barbaro Sant said he is optimistic about the sector’s ability to attract a new generation of Maltese workers.
“Every time I do get the chance to show a young person what this job really looks like, not the long hours, but the pride of pulling off something memorable, I watch something click. This industry sells itself once people actually see it up close,” he said.
“So I believe the next generation will come. It's on us to make sure they get that close-up look, early and often. When they do, I have no doubt Malta's tourism industry will be in very good hands.”
Cover photo: Douglas Barbaro Sant/ Linkedin
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