This 1983 song crystallises the thoughts of thousands who are on holiday or who are stuck at work, yet in their minds they are already knee deep in the cool waters. What should we expect out of out own beaches, especially in the light of the blue flag status awarded to St George’s Bay? Bernard Busuttil finds out more about what work is carried out on that and other beaches.

As the summer weather is slowly but surely approaching 40ºC, more Maltese and tourists flock to the beaches. Each and every person has his own bathing habits, those who love rocky beaches and those who love sandy ones and there are also those who prefer to spend hours sunbathing rather than actually bathing in the sea.

However, sandy beaches will always remain the most popular – in fact the government is introducing measures to improve the quality of three very popular beaches in Malta; St George’s Bay, the Bugibba Perched Beach and Mellieha Bay (better known as Ghadira).

These three beaches are run by the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) according to a beach management plan of international standard. Mario J. Attard, Product Development Director at the MTA, said this was a novelty in Malta. He said the authority has been given a concession to run the beaches by the Lands Department, which owns the beaches.

Mr Attard said the model was made up of several features, such as a beach manager, beach attendants, lifeguards, proper signage and water quality testing, a beach code of conduct as well as proper bins and a sand sifting programme. Barbecues were only allowed at Ghadira, and in time they would be prohibited from that beach as well.

“The model is applied to all beaches in the same matter, except for Ghadira, which is three times bigger than the other beaches, therefore we have to double our efforts,” said Mr Attard.

St George’s Bay has been recently given the blue flag status, which is an international award scheme which acts as a guarantee that a beach is among the best in the world. It is awarded to coastal destinations which have achieved the highest quality in water, facilities, safety, environmental education and management.

That beach, said Mr Attard, has been awarded after three years of management by MTA. During this time-span, the beach has undergone land reclamation, using Jordanian sand. He said the latest reclamation is part of the original permit issued by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) which had allowed reclamation up to the present point. However, MTA decided to carry out the reclamation in two phases in order to monitor the process. Mr Attard said studies showed that the sand used in the first reclamation had not been dispersed, thus increasing the possibility that the second phase would also be successful.

Thanks to the second reclamation process, the bay could now hold 300 more people.

Such a popular bay would surely require to be properly looked after, and Mr Attard said that St George’s Bay as well as the Perched Beach, were manned by a manager, two attendants as well as security staff and trained lifeguards. Due to St George’s Bay being popular also at night, MTA hires policemen to keep an eye on the beach at night.

The beaches are cleaned early in the morning, including the separated waste, and sand is sifted and levelled off once a week. Regular water tests are carried out and the results are published on signs put up on the beaches.

The Bugibba Perched Beach has been managed by the MTA since it was inaugurated last year. Mr Attard said that this beach was a unique experiment in the Mediterranean and it had proved to be very popular especially with tourists. “We have created a sandy beach out of a stretch of land full of sharp rocks,” said Mr Attard.

Mellieha Bay has just been added to MTA’s portfolio. Mr Attard said the management requirements for the beach are just the same as those for the other beaches, except for the need for more staff. The management of this beach has been very challenging, said Mr Attard, adding that both operators and visitors have given positive comments. This includes those who run the kiosks on the beach. Mr Attard said MTA’s interest was not to drive out the kiosks but to cooperate with everyone involved so as to maximise the potential of the beach for the good of the country, the tourism industry, the Maltese and the operators.

What plans were there in store for Malta’s beaches? Mr Attard replied that a committee chaired by MTA was drafting a national policy for beach management. The committee includes the Police, the Malta Maritime Authority, the Civil Protection Department, Mepa and the Health Department.

MTA is also currently striving to obtain a blue flag status for the Perched Beach and Ghadira, in fact this year an application has been filed for the first while an application will be filed for the latter in two years’ time.

Managing three of the most popular beaches in Malta has to come at a high price many would say. However, Mr Attard said that through rent, paid beach concessions, which can occupy not more than a quarter of a beach’s area, MTA can actually run the beaches without dishing out money.