Yesterday, Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech was supposed to have addressed executive managers and head representatives in the tourism sector on board the MV Atlantis. This was to have left from Sliema for Vittoriosa, following which there was to have been a tour of Cottonera.

But a spokesman for the Tourism Ministry said that the event had been postponed because of fears of bad weather. This was later confirmed in a statement issued by the Malta Tourism Authority.

The reason for the postponement, the ministry spokesman said, had nothing to do with the statement issued on Thursday by the Cottonera Joint Committee. The event has been rescheduled for next week.

The committee said that the commercial project for the embellishment of Cottonera should not involve politics and should have the main aim of increasing the locality’s tourist industry and creating new job opportunities in the area.

In its statement, the council disagreed with Dr Zammit Dimech’s presence at an activity aimed at tourist operators. The minister’s presence could turn the project into a political initiative which might impede the commercial impact needed, said the committee.

The promotion of tourism in the Cottonera area must be done professionally and be taken seriously, the statement concluded.

In its reply, the Tourism and Culture Ministry objected to the assertion that the presence of the minister was “changing a commercial activity into a political one” and that “the programme was only going to serve a political mileage for the minister, ruining the commercial aspect.”

The ministry pointed out that the Cottonera Joint Committee was formed by mayors of Cottonera local councils and representatives of MLP committees in the area. As such it is this committee that should worry whether it is itself acting as a political front for tourism in Cottonera.

In addition, the Ministry pointed out that during a meeting with the MTA chairman, the Cottonera Joint Committee was headed by none other than the Leader of the Opposition, Alfred Sant. On that occasion the Cottonera Joint Committee did not issue a statement condemning the presence of a political figure.

The ministry also noted that the present administration has already done a great deal to regenerate the Cottonera area and is committed to such regeneration not by words but by deeds. It is also committed to give Cottonera its share of the tourism industry, to the benefit of the three cities and their inhabitants.