AD was represented at the meeting by chairman Harry Vassallo and AD’s spokesman on tourism and economic affairs Edward Fenech.

AD requested this meeting after the MHRA had issued a statement expressing its disappointment with Mepa’s decision on the Verdala golf course. The MHRA invited AD’s representatives to attend its council meeting so that both sides could clarify their respective positions on the development of golf courses.

During the meeting MHRA president Winston Zahra said that MHRA’s main disappointment was that it took Mepa 10 years to decide against the Verdala golf course development and that this was unfair to the developer.

Dr Vassallo agreed that the 10-year delay was unfair not only to the developer but also to the farmers. He argued that Mepa should have turned down the project immediately, since the development contradicted the policies of the structure plan, the studies

carried out by the Planning Directorate and the Church-State agreement.

Dr Vassallo expressed AD’s concern that Malta is losing two per cent of its agricultural land every year and if current trends are not arrested, will lose all its agricultural land in 50 years’ time. He added that the government has not yet presented a cost-benefit analysis to justify its insistence on the development of two golf courses.

Mr Zahra announced that once Mepa identifies its chosen site for a golf course, the MHRA will conduct its own independent feasibility study. He stressed that the experience of the tourist visiting Malta has to be enhanced and that the addition of golfing facilities on the island would help achieve this aim. Various market research has shown that unless a destination has at least three golf courses, this lucrative market cannot be tapped effectively. Mr Zahra stated that over two million people travel to play golf in Europe every year, spending a total of over E2 billion.

He added that Malta could attract a further 30,000 visitors, each spending three times as much as a normal leisure visitor, if the right golfing facilities were put in place. Mr Zahra concluded by emphasising that the golfing market could help develop the conference and incentive sector, the short break market, the sports tourism market and the high yield leisure market in general. Moreover, golf enthusiasts would be expected to visit in the shoulder and winter months, thereby helping to solve our seasonality problems.

Both sides agreed that apart from the golf course issue, there is plenty of common ground between the two organisations especially on the need to preserve the island’s natural, cultural and historical heritage and to develop the tourism industry in a sustainable fashion. They agreed to continue cooperating on these issues.