CAPTAIN MARVEL and his tourism trail Victor Calleja

Thankfully Malta never has terrible tornadoes and rough winds send us into turbUlence. We have a mild, mostly sunny climate which is one of the reasons we are so loved by foreigners. Therefore I do not particularly specialize in tornadoes but meeting a human one who has been a force, not of horror but of good and fruitful schemes, makes me stop, listen and analyse.

The human tornado or dynamo is , Michael ZammitTabona, brains, wings and force behind the Fortina hotels, Captain Morgan and a few other successful brands in Malta and abroad.

I meet Michael at one of his new places by the sea above the Fortina swimming pool on the foreshore opposite the hotel itself. It's a breezy, cool place with staff who are friendly in that Captain Morgan sort of way - close and familiar in a great way but still service-oriented. Oh and I enjoyed a risotto mare di seppia which was just superb.The view is jaw-droppingly gorgeous and the boats plying the creek make it all the more entertaining - although when Michael is your host you didn't need too much extra entertainment. That he is a living legend I know but seeing him and how he operates and how people keep referring to him to get rates confirmed, parties organised and ads in foreign papers ordered was a lesson in hands-on, although slightly madcap, management.

And Michael is a born raconteur. He keeps you transfixed with his stories

and every so often he thumps his fist in jollity or in anger - but whatever he does he does with gusto, with panache and in a way that spells Michael Zammit Tabona.

"I started when tourism was just a blinking thought in most eyes," he tells me while laughing away. My fathe\ and uncle went into tourism when i!t had just started developing with the Tigne Court Hotel and later with the Fortina.They formed part of the MHRA under Jean Cauchi and

·Joe Zarb Mizzi. I went into the hotel world at a very young age in 1972 and have never looked back."

Although Michael says he hardly has any regrets he does speak lovingly and longingly about the early days when the Navy sent its top men to stay at the hotel, possibly ranking as the first tour operator for the Zammit Tabonas.The navy was booking and paying hotels and the rates charged were even better than those charged today. "And the Qyeen was our first

debtor which means that no problems were ever encountered for timely payments. The Qyeen," Michael teUs me while winking repeatedly, "never falters in her payments and never goes bust."

This is vintage Michael who will talk sense and big things but always with his Peter Pan love of fun. Was the adulation of anything British and the first connection with the Navy the reason why he chose Captain Morgan as the brand name for his boats? The navy used to be, after all, synonymous with rum. There is a much simpler explanation. When he leased his first boat from Ripard it carried an advert for Captain Morgan Rum. He just had the word rum rubbed off and the name stuck and became a well established brand.

Michael's love of fun and of creating ways for visitors to have fun is a true God-send. Michael's companies dish out unlimited amounts of it - from the boats to the hotels and restaurants and now the buses. His latest foray into the world of tourism is, his purchasing of the leading line of hop-on hop-off buses roaming the streets of Malta .. He didn't start from scratch as he did with his Captain Morgan boats, where he started with one then moved on to the ten in operation today, capable of taking anything up to 3800 people daily. With the buses he bought a whole fleet and operates a number of other smaller companies which own a few buses.

INSIDER

Michael has been Vice-President of MHRA on a few occasions - once under the presidency of Norman Mifsud, under Victor Mercieca and under Josef Formosa Gauci. Being the outspoken man he is, the words of praise for Norman and Josef mean quite a lot. Michael is renowned for calling a spade not just a spade - if need be he'll call it a f"***** spade and he will do it in the presence of anyone. Authority, he says, doesn't scare him. He says "after all I have never been given any favours to help me in my work. All I have and all I achieved is because I worked for it and because I chose the right people to get things done and done properly. The bureaucrats and impossible permits to obtain are a definite pain but life goes on. So much more can be achieved on this island if we shed our pettiness."

So I ask him what good was being done by MHRA councils? "A world of good," he says. He learnt a lot and in his first stint when he was very young he gained an insight into the world of tourism from people who were giants at the time. He loved every minute of it and felt good about being a contributor to tourism in general.

L\SIDER

"After all what improves in Malta overall will subsequently benefit all operators."It is because of this that he feels the MHRA report he had helped produce which lists all the needs and ideas for the tourism sector in Malta should be revisited. Although it is a few years old it is still very relevant and with the right attitude can easily be implemented.

Michael believes private industry should always be given more space when policies or plans are being implemented. He beams his most effective Cheshire cat smile when he says that he was part of the MHRA that clamoured most vociferously for Low Cost Carriers. He wanted them to come and be part of the solution to our tourism market. "We fought for LCCs and would not stop before they were introduced. We acknowledged and respected Air Malta's contribution to tourism in Malta and the last thing we wanted was do any harm to it.

Government took long to see our point of view but thankfully eventually relented and now it is up to Air Malta and LCCs to manage to coexist. The tourism market in Malta has been

November 2012 61

I,

more successful, with better results achieved, thanks to the policy of opening up to LCCs. But wouldn't it have been easier to accept our views earlier? When we fight for the way forward for tourism we do it not just for our livelihood and our profits but for the whole of Malta and also for the many workers who are directly or indirectly employed in tourism."

Michael tells me it is now most satisfYing that things have improved immensely, with Josef Formosa Gauci who moved over from MHRA to MTA delivering on practically all counts. Josef knows the industry and he cares not just for one side but all. "Long may such a policy and attitude reign," Michael sighs contentedly. Once the battle for LCCs and the MTA, first through Sam Mifsud then through Josef, seemed to be going in the right direction he felt there wasn't much of a fight and standing up for rights left to do. So he moved on. "I never join anything for the social side only. That is great but I need much more than that to get me motivated."

Because Michael needs a battle to get him agitated and energised I ask him what annoys him in the market today. He is as blunt as usual. He tells me there are a lot of operators in today's market that do not go by the rules.

He feels the need to emphasise that "they break all the rules, from health and safety to fiscal. They operate without the necessary equipment. And because they do this they undercut the rest of't e competition which

goes by the book. It's so odd but the authorities seem to be all exact and exacting with us when they know we do everything above board but then they hardly look at the ones who break the law openly. If they do clear up such messes the authorities themselves collect more taxes so why not do it just for that? The end user would be better off t0o - as he would get a much better deal .~nd we would be able to compete on a level playing field."

I now ask Michael something which bothers me and I'm sure bothers a number of others in tourism. The bus touts who persist in selling at all costs to any one passing by the tourist bus rides. Michael isn't too put out: he tells me he has advised authorities he is ready to remove them and also all ticket booths from the Strand as long as everyone does it. He cannot do it unilaterally and if he did his company would just sink because the competition would remain raking in the sales. "The worst part of this

enforcement is close

to zilch or even less than zilch. If we were allowed to enforce rules or self­regulate we would be so much more efficient and attractive as a nation."

The tales Michael has to relate would fill a few Insider magazines and more. This is a man who has given tourism something new and exciting ever since he started out in business. Now the Captain Morgan brand is strong and recognisable - and does not need to ride piggyback on any product. It is now, I daresay, more visually known and established in Malta than any rum. Michael never was much of a pirate - in fact his lifelong fight is against pirates who ruin the business, the cowboys of the high seas who fight on unequal footing.

Michael might sound like a fighter but he is the eternally jovial kid who loves his work and has created an extensive undertaking to help others enjoy their leisure and Malta. The spark in Captain Michael's eyes still shines for the benefit of us all . •

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