The people of Mosta are rightly proud of their rotunda, a major attraction for the Maltese and for tourists alike. And, rightly again, they do not like seeing anything happen which might give their pride a bad name, no matter how slight; as proved by a proud Mosti who contacted The Malta Independent about what he saw as an anomaly in the hop on, hop off sight-seeing service called Maltasightseeing.

He complained about the fact that it was not unusual for tourists to “hop off” the bus at Mosta in order to visit the rotunda, the town’s parish church, which has the third largest unsupported dome in the world.

Nothing wrong in that, everyone will agree. Indeed, such “hopping off” is welcomed by the pavement cafes in the area. But they do not like seeing tourists disappointed, and disappointed is what they are when the tourists, unknowingly, hop off during the church’s closing hours, noon to 3pm.

The Mosta resident said that such tourists complained about being left stranded for an hour while waiting for another Maltasightseeing bus. A tourist guide book seen by The Malta Independent says that the church is open between 9am and 5pm – nowhere is it mentioned that it is closed for three hours during that timeframe.

A spokesperson for Supreme Travel Ltd., the company which runs Maltasightseeing, told The Malta Independent when contacted that there are no guides on board the bus and customers are provided with a running commentary in eight languages that is activated via the Global Positioning System.

The spokesperson said unhelpingly that commentaries will surely not be changed because tourists can ask their well-informed drivers about the Mosta dome’s visiting hours, adding that tourists could well fill up their free time by enjoying a drink at one of the cafés in the town square.

The same resident had another gripe to make, relating to other tourist coaches. He described how the square is sometimes lined with jam-packed coaches waiting for afternoon funerals to finish. The resident called for more interaction between all those involved in the sector to provide a better service for tourists.

[email protected]