The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) Council elected Mr Kevin De Cesare as the new Association President following Mr. Josef Formosa Gauci's resignation from this post and the MHRA Council, due to his appointment as Chief Executive Officer at the Malta Tourism Authority.

Mr Kevin De Cesare who is Executive Director of the Eden Leisure Group comes from a family with a long history associated with the Hospitality industry on the island. He has been serving as a council member on MHRA for a number of years, and was also a member of the tourism consultative group appointed by the Prime Minister in late 2006.

This group was responsible for drawing up a set of recommendations on key issues facing the Tourism Industry at the time. Many of the recommendations drawn in the report were incorporated in the Malta National Tourism Plan launched in December 2006 and which were instrumental in the turn around of the industry's performance during 2007. Mr Michael Zammit Tabona and Mr Winston Zahra Jr retain their vice presidency posts on the MHRA and the rest of council also remains unchanged.

MHRA Council members thanked the outgoing president Mr Josef Formosa Gauci for his sterling work as MHRA President over the past 20 months and wished him every success in his new post as CEO of the Malta Tourism Authority.