The Labour Party is not excluding the possibility of building a cruise liner terminal in St Paul’s Bay and the idea could be looked into, Labour MPs said during a conference regarding the MLP’s development plan for the whole tourist area in the northeast.

The conference was attended by a number of stakeholders in the tourist industry, some of whom put forward questions to Labour leader Alfred Sant following his introductory speech.

Dr Sant said that while the past year marked an improvement for the tourist industry as a whole, the same could not be said for tourism in the St Paul’s Bay area and Gozo.

The Labour leader questioned whether the overall improvement was simply due to the reaction of the market when low-cost carriers started operating to and from Malta.

He said the St Paul’s Bay area was at risk of losing out on being one of the main tourist zones, but the MLP believed in the potential of the whole area – stretching from Xemxija to Qawra – as a district that could be regenerated and given its own identity as a coherent tourist area.

There was at time when 40 per cent of tourists visiting Malta annually would spend their stay in accommodation facilities in the area, said Dr Sant.

He said a new MLP government would set up a public-private task force that would draft and implement a business plan with clear aims to create favourable conditions for the tourist industry in the area to be given a new lease on life.

The action plan would include both short-term and medium- to long-term strategies, said Dr Sant.

A new Labour government would appoint a Tourism Zone Management Committee that would be given executive powers and act as a one-stop shop for tourist operators and would work in direct coordination with local councils.

The committee would be in charge of waste collection, public cleanliness, the development of public facilities in the area, an effective tourist information system and road signage.

Dr Sant said a new Labour government would also ensure that construction site regulations are enforced in a manner that would not disturb tourists, residents and commercial activity in the area.

Fiscal incentives would also be introduced for owners of old hotels to pull them down and build modern facilities.

Dr Sant also stressed the need for more three-star hotels and self-catering apartments in the area. Fiscal incentives would also be provided for the upgrading of accommodation facilities, he said.

The Labour Party also plans to develop an extensive campaign in northern Europe to encourage elderly people living in cold countries to spend the winter in Malta.

By means of a public-private agreement, Maltese elderly people would also be encouraged to spend a period of the winter months in hotels in the St Paul’s Bay area.

The Labour leader also went on to mention the need for better use of coastal zones and beaches. He said the MLP planned to provide fiscal incentives to this effect.

The party also plans to build a large yacht marina in the St Paul’s Bay area and develop other maritime facilities and attractions.

Speaking about niche activities, Dr Sant mentioned diving, boat trips and rural trips in the area, which should be given more space to develop and improve.

Among other plans, Dr Sant said a new Labour government would also build a car park that could take up to 3,000 cars and other smaller car parks in the area, improve the public transport system in the area, give the St Paul’s Bay area a new promotional brand and provide training programmes for employees working in the tourist industry.

“Tourism is the vocation of the St Paul’s Bay area, so the importance of regenerating it could not be stressed too much,” said Dr Sant.