From Mr V. Spiteri

So much has been written by armchair critics like myself about the deteriorating state of the tourism industry, that I think another letter to the editor would not come amiss.

It seems to me, that we all know what the real problems are. The trouble is that we are reluctant to face the truth.

We have been slowly killing the goose that lays the golden egg for some time. Starting with the government, and not with the beleaguered minister for tourism, the level of taxation the government has imposed on the tourism industry contributed in no small way to our lack of competitivity with neighbouring Mediterranean resorts.

The obstinacy of the government in retaining the high exchange rate of the Maltese lira, is another obvious contributory factor: it is psychologically unnerving for a British tourist to find that he gets just 60 cents for his pound. Let us not forget that the British market is by far our largest and most dependable and we lose it at our grave peril.

Then there is the mind-boggling greed inherent in most of our small hawkers and traders, as well as taxi operators. An elderly handicapped gentleman needed a taxi to take him from The Palace square to the bus terminus in Valletta. He told me he was charged Lm5 for a taxi.

Two years ago I went to Reggio Calabria with a colleague. We were charged less than Lm2 for a five-kilometre journey back to the MV Zebbug.

I am told by friends who made several trips to Tunisia that with the louage system of transport, you can travel all day from place to place for approximately Lm5. How much would a tourist have to fork out in Malta for such a service?

When is the public transport reform going to materialise. Do we have to persist with a system that accommodates the interests of bus owners, ignoring the interests of the public that uses them.

Another source of irritation for a tourist are the different rates charged for a trip to Gozo. The Gozitans pay the lowest rate, which can be somehow justified. But is it justified to charge a tourist more than a Maltese on a similar day trip to Gozo?

Many hawkers tend to fleece tourists mercilessly; they see them as easy prey, especially if they are not familiar with our currency.

Then there is another terrible aspect of the Maltese psyche –vindictiveness. If one is fined Lm10 by a warden, you can rest assured that he will seek to inflict Lm20 damage on government property at the earliest opportunity that present itself. We have seen the desecration of the temples by people peeved at being prohibited from doing as they pleased in the area.

This incident was reported worldwide. What are foreign visitors going to make of the government’s silly branding exercise after reading about such barbarity?

Restaurants are another source of frequent disappointment to the tourists who frequent them. They are often overcharged for food that is not up to acceptable standards.

Instead of wasting money on a futile branding exercise, the tourist board should prepare a leaflet or a pamphlet informing incoming tourists how much they will be expected to pay for the various goods and services. They should also be given a number to ring to report overcharging and shoddy services. A strict understanding that those caught will be charged with the serious offence of undermining our livelihood and sentenced accordingly, is also required.

We also need to realise that our choices are limited by our size. Do we want to preserve the few places suitable for swimming, or are we going to continue compromising them with tuna penning? I suggest that we cannot have it both ways.

When I was a boy, I was told that to catch a bird you have to put salt on its tail. I wonder if Evarist will be attempting something similar with tourists. We have been told that a change at the top from Zammit Dimech to Evarist Bartolo, will have Malta brimming with free spending tourists. It seems that all we need is salt to sprinkle on their tails.

Victor Spiteri

ATTARD