Stop shooting tourism in the foot, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association warned in a statement issued a few days ago.
It was a pun used to perfection as their obvious reference was to illegal hunting which, in the MHRA’s opinion, “is undermining the national drive to bring back tourism on a sustainable path”.
It must be pointed out that tourism – the largest segment of our economy – is not at its best moment. Although there has been a slight recovery in terms of numbers during 2004, other targets are not being reached. The aim to bring over higher-quality tourists who spend more is still an illusion.
This could largely be due to the fact that the product we are offering is not of the highest standards. While our hotels and the services these offer are top quality, elsewhere the situation is rather different and many of our visitors do not feel they are getting value for their money. They know they can go to other destinations at a cheaper cost and get more out of their holiday.
It is known that the government, through the Malta Tourism Authority, has embarked on a massive drive to get things back on track. It is a tough hill to climb, considering the competition that Malta must face but with good planning and better organisation, small steps will lead somewhere. The restructuring process at MTA was already a move in the right direction.
Yet, the MTA’s costly efforts to promote Malta as an ideal destination for tourists are many times nullified by the actions of a few hunters who literally do not understand the implications of their behaviour in the overall scenario.
What is the use of spending so much money to advertise Malta as a country that one should visit when one single letter in the foreign media, complaining about people almost being shot at while walking in the countryside or that protected birds are being killed here, can do so much damage? MTA spends thousands of liri to describe Malta’s beauty, yet that one letter could destroy MTA’s efforts.
Tourism is a sensitive industry and we should not make it harder for ourselves. It is already enough for Malta to have to face so much competition in the sector.
In its statement, the MHRA said reports of illegal hunting continue to be published in the foreign press at a time when the tourism industry has shown signs of recovery after four years of decline.
It is preoccupying, the MHRA added, that the substantial investment being made in the industry is at the mercy of a “minority who can only see gun barrels beyond their noses”.
The association called for the strengthening of law enforcement and backing it by harsh judgments which should act as a deterrent.
Tourism can be seen as the bridge between a time of economic downturn to the prosperous times everyone is aiming for. Anyone who weakens this bridge – and the MHRA in this case was referring to hunters – has a great responsibility to shoulder.
The MHRA is right in demanding a stricter supervision of hunters and hunting. What is a problem is that the number of hunters by far supercedes the number of law enforcers and it is, therefore, extremely difficult to monitor the situation closely and bring offenders to book.
While it is imperative that the green wardens about to be introduced do not simply monitor illegal dumping and littering but hunting too, hunters should be made to understand the harm the are causing to Malta, as a country, just to pursue their hobby. Hunters’ associations must be in the forefront to educate their members to behave as they should. If these associations already do so, then this is apparently not enough.