Malta Labour Party leader yesterday called for a national strategy aimed to do all that is possible for the tourism industry to be given a big push forward.

Speaking during a meeting with officials from the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, Dr Sant said the tourism industry was close to a crisis and needs a boost. The government is not showing a sense of urgency, but there is clearly a need to improve the tourism product.

The strategy needs to be supported by the government while all the stakeholders need to be involved in a comprehensive way.

Dr Sant said the government believes that it could plough on without any outside help, but this should not be the case.

MHRA senior vice-president Josef Formosa Gauci was quoted by the MLP as having said that last winter was a difficult period for the tourism industry and May and June were not any better.

Mr Formosa Gauci was reported to have said that Malta cannot close its doors to low cost airlines, considering that the number of passengers making use of such airlines was now close to 100 million.

Dr Sant said that Malta should become more flexible and adapt to changing circumstances.

This however needed to be done without the country losing essential tools such as Air Malta.