ITS Malta Smashes Student Record: 1,420 Future Hospitality Stars Kick Off Academic Year

ITS Starts Academic Year with Record Number of Students: Malta’s Creative Powerhouse Hits New Heights

The Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) threw open its doors this week to the largest student body in its 35-year history, cementing its role as the beating heart of Malta’s hospitality scene. With 1,420 fresh faces milling through the Qormi campus on Monday—up 18 % on last year—lecturers had to wheel in extra chairs and the canteen ran out of ftira biż-żejt by 10 a.m., a sweet chaos that principal Pierre Fenech cheerfully calls “a champagne problem.”

The surge is no accident. Post-pandemic, Malta’s tourism numbers rebounded faster than anyone dared hope—2.5 million visitors in 2023, edging us ever closer to 2019’s record. Hotels, dive centres, boutique wineries and five-star spas are scrambling for trained staff, and ITS has become the island’s unofficial talent factory. “We’re literally educating our own future neighbours,” Fenech told Hot Malta, gesturing to a group of giggling students still clutching passports from India, Colombia and Gozo. “These kids will be the ones greeting your nanna at the hotel door, shaking the prime minister’s hand at a state dinner, or plating the rabbit ravioli you Instagram next Easter.”

Local pride runs deep. Walk into any village festa and you’ll spot the ripple effect: the ITS-trained barman pouring Kinnie shots at the kazin, the former student who now manages the band club’s rooftop restaurant. In Qormi itself—traditionally known for crusty bread rather than croissants—new cafés have sprouted around the campus, serving student-priced pastizzi with avocado twist. “My sales doubled since September,” beamed Marlene Camilleri, who runs the kiosk opposite the gates. “I even learned how to make a flat white on YouTube. These youngsters don’t do instant coffee.”

The demographic shift is striking. While Maltese teens still make up 55 % of the cohort, EU nationals account for 30 %, drawn by English-taught diplomas and the lure of 300 sunny days. The remaining 15 % hail from as far as Nepal and Nigeria, many on scholarships co-funded by Malta Enterprise and the European Social Fund. Their presence is quietly reshaping island life: Zabbar’s parish priest now offers a monthly Mass in Tagalog, while Marsaxlokk fish vendors have started accepting Revolut.

Education Minister Clifton Grima, himself an ITS alumnus from the days when “the biggest challenge was finding a parking spot in September rain,” hailed the milestone as proof that vocational study is no longer “the consolation prize.” New labs for artisanal gelato, yacht hospitality and esports event management open this month, backed by a €10 million EU recovery package. “We’re not just training waiters,” Grima insisted. “We’re forging experience designers who’ll keep Malta ahead of the Mediterranean curve.”

Yet the boom brings growing pains. Student accommodation is scarce; rents in Żebbuġ have jumped 25 % in two years. ITS has converted two under-used lecture blocks into 120 dorm rooms, but 400 applicants remain on the waiting list. “I’m couch-surfing in Msida,” laughed 19-year-old Marta from Poland, clutching a suitcase plastered with Ryanair stickers. “But hey, it’s still cheaper than Warsaw.”

Transport is another headache. The lone Qormi bus stop now sees queues snaking past the old bakery at 7 a.m., prompting Transport Malta to trial a direct shuttle from Valletta waterfront. Lecturers report record attendance, but also record lateness. “Maltese time is becoming academic time,” sighed chef-lecturer Daniela Spiteri, who keeps a giant kitchen timer on her desk.

Still, the mood is electric. On opening day, students staged an impromptu DJ set in the courtyard, blasting techno remixes of Gaħan l-Imħabba while waving flags of 42 nations. By dusk, the scent of sizzling ġbejnija mingled with Korean BBQ from a food-truck collaboration between ITS and local start-up Hobb il-Malti. “This is what Malta does best,” observed 67-year-old Qormi resident Ċensu Vella, leaning on his walking stick. “We adopt the world, feed it, and make it feel at home.”

As the academic year unfolds, the island will watch closely. If ITS can channel this energy into world-class service, Malta’s tourism goose will keep laying golden eggs. If not, we risk overcrowded classrooms and underpaid graduates. For now, though, the record intake feels like a national pat on the back—proof that after centuries of foreign rule and economic ups and downs, Maltese hospitality is still our hottest export.