Closing a seminar on sustainable tourism, Dr Zammit Dimech said there are other tourism destination which have the same sun, sand and sea to offer so Malta cannot compete on this basis only.

“Malta has to re-discover its competitive edge and more emphasis must be placed on culture. To combine tourism and culture in the same Ministry was a step in the right direction,” he said.

He said all the stakeholders should involve themselves in the creation of a new action plan for tourism. He said the present board of directors of the Malta Tourism Authority would like to go beyond the strategy plan.

Dr Zammit Dimech mentioned something that is damaging the local tourism industry: Maltese souvenirs mass produced in China. He said this was diminishing the authentic experience for which tourists come to Malta. “In this way we are killing the goose that lays the golden eggs for us. We must be jealous of what is ours,” he said.

He said Malta should also be perceived as a country of contemporary visual and performing arts and people would then come to Malta for specific artistic experiences.

Commenting on low-cost airlines, Dr Zammit Dimech said these could help to reduce the amount of packaged offers whereby airline fares, restaurants bills and hotel prices are lowered because of pressure from tour operators. “We cannot do away with this all together, but we need less of it,” he said.