It was the Gozitan priest, Canon Gian Francesco Agius de Soldanis who in 1746 came up with the book Gozo - Isola Mediterranea adiacente a Malta Africana. Inverting our normal perception, he saw Gozo as the more important island of the archipelago, with Malta thrown in as a ''Malta Africana''

As all those who throng there practically all the year round but especially in the summer months, there is a beauty, an attractiveness, in Gozo that is unrepeatable elsewhere. The many hills, all topped by small villages, still separate from each other, with most houses enjoying panoramic views of valleys and the sea, with a pleasurable lifestyle, which despite the invasive day trippers still enjoys its serenity and quiet - all this and more makes living in Gozo one of Malta's unique attractions.

Over the past decades, the number of hotel rooms in Gozo has been decreasing but the number of private accommodation has exploded. Apartments and holiday homes now take up most of the visitors to Gozo who spend more than just a day there. And there are, of course, the farmhouses, whose number mysteriously seems to increase year after year.

But even the top of the range farmhouses seem to have something missing here or there whereas as for the rest - the sky's the limit.

Just to mention a couple of examples drawn from real life experience:

-         The flat in Zebbug filled with furniture that must have served a couple of generations, instead of being consigned to the skip.

-         The farmhouse in San Lawrenz - Gharb with cockroaches roaming around, a swimming pool green with algae, and very dirty curtains.

-         The farmhouse in Nadur which must have been used for a drug party by the group immediately before, with table spoons, for instance showing the use to which they had been subjected.

-         And so on and so forth.

Now it is moot if any of these had any MTA or similar permit. The fact one can find them on the Internet shows their use is public, even though everyone knows about them except the government, it would seem.

Anyone who has been abroad knows that any hotel room, or farmhouse, etc has affixed to its wall a certification from the government body showing the category of the accommodation offered as well as the price range. That is completely absent in Gozo, or else if it exists, has never been seen by us. Such a certification should also have a phone/email address where one can address one's complaints.

It would seem that such an absence of regulation and enforcement is the most glaring of inadequacies facing those who would have liked to enjoy a holiday in the idyllic surroundings of Gozo. Nor is there, as far as is known, any procedure to raise grievances and to regulate inadequacies. Families who would have spent a fortune to come to Gozo and enjoy an annual holiday in the sun can end up very disappointed that such a pleasant island could ruin their holiday so much.

One is not recommending here the enforcement of a draconian regime nor a prison camp regulation but what is normal and acceptable all over the world where rules are enforced and people get their money's worth.

Gozo is indeed idyllic and enchanting but a bad holiday experience can turn it into a hell on earth. The few miscreants in the sector must not be allowed to rule the roost.