VISET held a media briefing earlier this week where a breakdown of Malta’s cruise liner industry was given. The results were positive, but by far the highlight of the briefing were the comments made by Professor Edward Scicluna who shared his thoughts with those present.

Prof. Scicluna’s main thrust was that Malta should separate the cruise liner industry from mainstream tourism, and of course he is right. Malta’s performance in the cruise sector dipped at one point, but ever since the Waterfront opened up, coupled with impressive renovations and restoration of historic buildings, it has steadily improved.

What we do need to bear in mind is that cruise liner passengers more often than not only get to see Valletta, and if they are lucky, the old capital of Mdina. What does this mean? Cruise passengers tend to just get a taste of the resort they are visiting, often taking that information back home with them and storing it for later use. If they are favourably impressed by what we have to offer, then they might consider a return visit to Malta in its own right. If they are not impressed, well we do not really need to go into it. Suffice to say that word of mouth is the best (or worst) form of advertising.

The Waterfront in Valletta is lovely, shops, restaurants, services, scenery – you name it, it’s got it. We have seen the further restoration of the old power station and that too is another attraction. But, what if cruise liner tourists decide to walk off down towards the old fisheries building (now a ministry) and beyond? While Valletta is a living open air museum, no one would really argue if it was described as dilapidated, a bit grubby and even slum-ish in places. Do not get the wrong end of the stick – a lot has been done and the city is looking livelier and more attractive than it has done in the last 100 years or so.

But, as we have said, more needs to be done. We seem to have toyed with the idea of turning the whole Grand Harbour into a continuous waterfront, but for goodness sake, what on earth are we going to do with Marsa? It’s an eyesore. Bits of junk, broken down machinery, ships underwater. It truly is awful. We need to get our act together. If we want to make cruise tourism an industry in its own right, we need to lay down the necessary infrastructure to do so. And what is the infrastructure in this case? The physical properties of the Grand Harbour and, most important of all, access. We have seen the introduction of a bus service to Valletta proper from the cruise terminal, as well as the excavation of a tunnel from the MCP car park down to the waterfront and there are others in the pipeline. But we urge people to think innovatively and to be more on the ball. We need trams, we need vertical links, we need better roads, we need cheap local cabs and most of all, we need water taxis and small pleasure boats. The pleasure boats are in operation, but we really need to highlight them more. The government has announced the intention to introduce them, and this should be done quick smart. Also, although the idea has been shelved, the Connections Project – the tunnel to Cottonera – should be revived and given serious thought.