I don’t know when the siesta started or who controls it. I know it’s been around for at least 60 years and I wonder if anyone has truly thought of the harm it’s doing to Malta and also to the store-owners.

I lived in Canada for many years and up there, stores open from 9am to 9pm, uninterruptedly. Lately, they have also been opening on Sundays, using full time and part-time employees.

It is frustrating when many shops close for the siesta. Valletta is known as a shopping paradise and there are hundreds of stores. How many minutes can one spend in one particular shop if one is looking for a pair of suitable shoes or a pair of jeans?

By the time one has chosen it, it leaves a limited time for looking for other items before they close for the siesta. What would one do during the 3-4 hours breaks in Valletta before the shops reopen at 4pm?

The same situation exists in the evenings. No wonder Valletta is dead. I remember it full of life in the 1950s.

How about those cruise tourists who only have a few hours to visit Valletta? I feel stores, especially in Valletta and other tourist districts, should not close for the siesta because this is an inconvenience to locals and tourists who want to go shopping.

The tourism industry is not doing that well, but what is being done to rectify the problem? It may be a good idea if we look at other countries and see where their success is coming from and it may be a good idea if the government cares to read comments from various readers and acts on some of the things they suggest.

Alfred Grech

Mosta