There must be no better place where to have a chat and reflect than sitting relaxed on a cosy sofa while sipping a cup of freshly-brewed tea. This must have been the idea behind the series of sofa talks that are being held by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in collaboration with the Centre for Labour Studies at the University of Malta.

Basically it is the creation of a think-tank made up of a number of intellectuals each having a diverse background mainly related to the local socio-economical scene. The think-tank shall be holding a number of sessions throughout this year. The topics that are being proposed for discussion are tourism, migration, the construction industry, the housing sector and the impact of the forces of tradition and modernity on the local society. In the first session of the sofa talks, the think-tank tackled a number of aspects associated with tourism, an industry that affects directly and indirectly the livelihood of most people.

Unfortunately Malta registered a worrying downfall in tourism at a time when competitor countries increased their market share. Although the government’s original forecast for 2005-2007 was an increase of 150,000 tourists, to date, with about nine months to go for the end of 2007, the figures for tourists’ arrivals show a decrease of 30,000. This negative situation compelled the government to reassess its policies regarding the sector. The factors identified as contributors to the loss of Malta’s tourism industry’s competitive edge could include high costs, a degrading environment and amateurish customer care especially involving negligence, overcharging and harassment.

The participants raised a number of concerns that are hindering the sustainable progress of the industry, in particular over-development, environmental neglect and the need for better planning and marketing.

Inevitably, in dealing with the issue of over-development, the discussion focused on the perennial problem faced by the Gzira/Sliema area due to construction and refurbishing of hotels and apartments that among others lead to congested roads, noise and air pollution. It was pointed out that private investment is more targeted towards the real-estate industry rather than tourism while the composition of the SmartCity project raised a certain concern. The need to retain Gozo’s unique landscape characteristics for which it is synonymous and on which there seems to be a widespread consensus was on the agenda as well.

The increasing industrialisation of the south, with projects such as the Delimara power station, the Freeport and the recycling plant is leading to hinder the delocalisation of the tourism industry. Such projects diminish the already-limited number of unpolluted sandy beaches on the island while the expected closure of the sole leading hotel in the area was pointed out. The issue of environmental neglect focused on the capital city of Valletta, which should be considered as the island’s showcase. As things currently stand, the City Gate area is in a shabby state that does not conform to the characteristics expected to be found in a well-maintained historical city. This area still bears the monumental scar of the World War II bomb damage on the old opera house, a dilemma that we did not manage to solve after all these years.

An intervention in particular dealt with the need for better long-term planning by involving more experts and professionals in implementing projects that in some way concern the tourism industry even when it comes to events management. Among the possible solutions that can lead to a more sustainable and competitive industry are those aimed to solve the seasonality problem of various activities as in the case of the language tuition sector and to diversify by seeking new niche activities. The latter does not simply entail creating golf courses, but also, for instance, ventures concerning agro-tourism, especially in Gozo, and in a number of other options that are even included in the recently-published tourism plan.