There is nothing more compelling than reality, and the disappointing performance of the Malta tourist sector this season adds weight to the wake-up call by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) earlier this year. There was only one belated, silver lining to the dark clouds that gathered over the Maltese scene this last year. That was the decision to open up the market to low-cost airlines and Ryanair’s immediate, positive response.

Otherwise, the stark reality is that the government’s own target for this year is far from achieved. If anything, the sector slid further down the slippery slope.

Futile exercise

The much-heralded overhaul of the Malta Tourism Authority proved to be a futile exercise which caused far more harm than good. The appointment of a chairman-cum-CEO of the authority, at the contract rate of Lm25,000, produced more noise than concrete results. The chairman announced his “voluntary” resignation eight months ahead of time, claiming that his mission was accomplished.

The fact of the matter is that the tourist sector continued, and still continues, to lose ground.

A number of hotels closed down and others have survived by taking on students, attracted to Malta by English language schools and originally intended to stay with host families.

Substantial investments in publicity via CNN have been frittered away without results. The closing down of a number of representative offices of the Malta Tourism Authority on the continent compounded the damage.

Environmental pollution

Here at home, the construction industry continued to run riot, and vast stretches of tourist-sensitive areas have come to resemble permanent construction sites. Apart from the unacceptable disturbance, construction work adds another factor to the overall problem of pollution of the environment.

The closing, in mid-season, of the brand-new Bugibba beach, due to sewage leakage, dramatically highlighted the fragility of sensitive tourist locations.

The litany goes on, and is painfully amplified by the laments of disappointed tourists who write to the press to narrate their experiences.

Of late, the Maltese newspapers were awash with such complaints, ranging from the poor state of the roads, overcharging, inadequate public transport and so on.

Is there an inspectorate, with its feet on the ground, diligently doing its work?

Is there co-ordination between ministries and departments to enforce laws and regulation?

Or do we have a free-for-all, behind a false façade?

Even more to the point, is there a businesslike way to stop the rot, before the sector reaches the point of no return?

Easy answer

The easy initial answer is that the rot could not be stopped by loquacity, or by futile, instant exercises like the latest Brand Malta publicity stunt.

The case for “educating” public opinion with a view to presenting a hospitable face to our visitors existed since long ago.

The challenge had never been taken up seriously, and not at all systematically.

It calls for school and civic education, and for enlightened use of all communications media. It is a job still waiting to be done.

The time for a deliberate, no-nonsense effort to save the tourist sector is overdue.

There is a crying need for a hands-on minister, equal to the challenge – one who carries weight in the Cabinet and at all levels of the industry. The writ of the ministry must run viably with the necessary powers of direct intervention.

Above all, the tourist sector has to be run with the widest participation of the private sector.

Back to basics

Essentially, the problem basically calls for efficient, no-nonsense management, capable of delivering the goods with full powers of enforcement.

In any case, no significant forward movement is feasible unless we go back to basics.

How can Malta expect a resurgence in tourism when the Malta skyline is dominated by tower cranes and the island has come to resemble a construction site, when the state of many roads is deplorable, beaches lack public toilet facilities, and many heritage sites are poorly presented to the visitor?

Putting all of this right is the collective responsibility of the government. It amounts to creating the right business environment for private enterprise to do the rest.

Even so, private enterprise needs regulation to ensure that undesirable operatives notorious for persistent abuse are weeded out.

The involvement of the private sector in the management insures a level playing field from the operational point of view, and ought to stimulate competition – not just between Malta-based operatives but also with competing tourist destinations.

In short, vigorous measures to improve the product, and to arrest the process of uglification of the Maltese environment are sine qua non to survival.

Decisive questions

Perhaps the time has come to decide whether cultural and niche tourism on the one hand, and mass tourism on the other, go together.

Would it be at once viable and profitable if Malta were branded mainly as a cultural oasis and a unique repository of layer over layer of history, going back to the age of the megaliths - a world heritage site where 8,000 years of history could be re-lived in eight days?

Would the Malta tourist sector fare much better if it were to supplement earnings from this source with the earnings from other niches (like underwater sport), in preference to bucket tourists?

We are more likely to arrive, if we all know where we are going.

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