The tourism sector, providing employment for about 30 per cent of the workforce, has not been given the necessary importance in the last few years. The fact that there has been an increase of 10 per cent in the last year, after the insistence of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association for the introduction of low-cost airlines, is not much of a record, contrary to what has been reported by some of the media, according to Azzjoni Nazzjonali deputy leader Anglu Xuereb who spoke yesterday at a news conference at the Valletta Waterfront.

“Our rate of accommodation is still one of the lowest in Europe, and during the last five years there have been many hotels which have had to close down. Between November 2006 and December 2007 alone, 20 hotels closed down and only three new ones were opened, including a hostel. This has happened because the government insists on focusing only on the area of St Julian’s and Sliema while the north, south and Gozo have been neglected,” said Mr Xuereb.

AN leader Josie Muscat, commenting on Opposition Leader Alfred Sant’s proposal to have a golf course at Maghtab, said “we feel that Malta definitely needs more golf courses, but it’s up to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) to identify the locations. One cannot have a golf course where nature is against it.”

AN wants to make the changes “this sector deserves”, by focusing on niche tourism such as culture, religion, agriculture, sports and scuba diving, and a long-term master plan which will be achieved within a period of 10 years. It wants to create more incentives, such as more low-cost airlines, home porting of cruise liners, and the production of blockbuster movies such as The Great Siege of Malta filmed on the bastions.

Apart from creating yacht marinas in Marsamxett, Mgarr, Gozo, Xemxija and Marsascala, AN also wants to create a Centre for Superyachts in the Sliema Waterfront, and more Blue Flag beaches. “There has been a lot of talk about the Blue Flag beaches and yet we have only had one, in St George’s Bay, created in 20 years,” added Mr Xuereb.

Another incentive discussed for the population as a whole is to have two tariffs for electricity, one for day-time, and a lower one for night-time.