The government is aware that the country needs to strengthen its product in order to maintain competitiveness in the tourism industry, the Tourism and Culture Ministry said, in reply to comments made during a news conference addressed by opposition leader Alfred Sant in Paceville on Saturday.

The ministry said the government was committed to improving accessibility to the country and it is working on infrastructural and embellishment projects. It also aims to increase the availability of funds for advertising and promotion. The government would like to increase Malta-bound routes, as well as the number of airlines operating on the Malta route, the ministry said.

The ministry noted that a few days ago, Dr Zammit Dimech launched a national tourism policy, as well as the Malta Tourism Authority’s strategic plan for tourism and both were drafted in consultation with stakeholders in the tourism industry.

The ministry added that for the first time ever, the appointment of the new chairman of the authority also took place following an extensive consultation process with all the representatives of the industry.

“The government believes that everyone is bound to benefit from the tourism sector, so it should be considered against a national background. The Labour Party is only dealing with the tourism industry as a political game of opportunism and political convenience,” the ministry said.

It added that it was strange how the Labour party launched what it called a new national policy for tourism when the government and the tourism authority already carried out this process. Moreover, the Labour Party had said that it already had a new national policy document dealing with tourism, the ministry said.

The ministry said that this probably proved that as with every other sector, the Labour Party has no serious, tangible alternative for the tourism industry.