In Malta, there is never a dull moment, although our economic climate risks becoming more and more dull with every passing day.

Our sun-drenched island State has been passing through a difficult phase in recent years, with its worst hit tourist sector facing crisis.

Projected targets were not reached. Arrival numbers and tourist earnings went down.

The perception that Malta was losing its competitivity has turned out to be a grim reality. What went wrong and who is to blame?

Leading lights in the industry blamed the government. Media gurus, including the editor of this newspaper, blamed the Minister of Tourism. Some people in authority tried to blame Maltese citizens who are said to be increasingly less hospitable and careless about their own environment.

Core problem

In times of crisis, reason becomes the first casualty.

To my mind, The Malta Independent on Sunday hit the nail on its head. The core problem is one of gross mismanagement and incompetence, and lack of mechanism for public accountability. The end result is waste of time and money, while the responsible minister and his subordinates go round in circles, compounding their mistakes.

It is one thing for ministers to assume responsibility for policy matters. It is another for the minister to get personally involved in the nuts and bolts of the autonomous Tourism Authority

It is up to the Tourism Authority, and not their minister, to invite on board competitive business interests and win over the cooperation of public opinion.

Minister for Tourism Zammit Dimech took it upon himself to overhaul the Malta Tourism Authority doing things his way, i.e. by disregarding the advice of the industry’s representative spokesmen.

His appointment of the same person as chairman and CEO of the Authority opened unexpected floodgates. Certain major mistakes such as the closing down of MTA offices on the continent, the advertising extravaganza on CNN, and the pointless “Brand Malta” media campaign raised legitimate question marks, which have never been answered by the minister or the government

Mess beyond public scrutiny

The “Brand Malta” media campaign instantly elevated each Maltese citizen to the status of a ‘brand manager”, without first preparing the same citizens for this role. The money it spent on advertising the campaign should have been spent, long ago, to sustain school and civic education programmes, and to promote the participation of civil society in the project to enhance the Malta brand.

It would be unfair to blame Dr. Zammit Dimech for the inertia of his predecessors – but this does not exonerate him from his responsibilities during his watch.

The fact that the chairman-cum-CEO he appointed on the Tourism Authority “resigned” midway during his contract term, claiming to have “accomplished his mission”, and is now going to be paid his salary at the rate of Lm25,000 per annum for the next five months, is indicative of the mess that has been building up which is beyond public scrutiny.

It was this accumulating mess, and Zammit Dimech’s inability to cope, that provoked outcries for his resignation.

Questions

The damage sustained by the industry cannot easily be recouped. It will take time and managerial savvy for the industry to claw its way back to where it was before Zammit Dimech’s arrival.

Recent reports that the minister has appointed a high-profile Consultative Board to assist and advise the government, as well as the Malta Tourist Authority, on “all issues relating to the tourist industry”, suggests that the government is opting for a lifebuoy ahead of the approaching general election.

Does it plan to shed responsibility for the prevailing state of affairs and to pass it on to high-profile experts if things do not improve?

Will the high profile experts, who initially asked for the minister’s resignation, now perform a spectacular somersault? Toe the minister’s line, and risk seeing some of their private investments sink without trace?

Will the government now give in to business interests and allow low-cost carriers to operate from Malta on their terms?

Or will the high-profile experts prevail on the government and persuade the Prime Minister to introduce new blood at the Ministry, possibly opening the scenario for a whole range of pre-electoral concessions?

Time will tell.

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