I refer to the letter An ailing tourism industry by Philip Pace (TMID, 17 August) and would like to point out to him that following his experience at the restaurants in which he was not treated well, it is a must that these waiters and waitresses be educated. Therefore, the “Brand Malta” exercise is not a bad idea after all.

I have to admit that this administration failed to improve the tourism industry, but I fully agree with this attempt to educate some of the people who are involved in the hospitality/service industry. They need to be professionally trained to understand the importance of treating our tourists with cordiality and respect.

We have “good” and “bad” people in Malta – some are gentle, some are rough. The latter group needs to be educated and the Brand Malta programme is a good way to start.

I hope that the Brand Malta programme will be built, not just on what comes out of the Malta Tourism Authority and Minister Francis Zammit Dimech’s office, but also on suggestions offered by the public in various newspapers. We, the public, need to listen to the government but the government needs to listen to us also.

Brand Malta should not be an Nationalist Party initiative but a Maltese initiative and we all should cooperate to see it realised.

Alfred Grech

Mosta