While tourism in summer is mainly focused on Malta’s seaside resorts, one should not forget that mainland Malta also has other places of interest as potential tourist bases, even if smaller, one of them being the Rabat/Mdina area. Actually, even if modest in volume compared to other localities in Malta, the area had a much stronger tourist base than today.

Rabat hotel history

The 4-star Grand Hotel Verdala, with some 300 beds capacity, was one of the premium pioneers, opening in 1971. A reactivation as hotel or even as joint hotel/residential, definitely without golf course, should remain an option better than just a vacant building. Maybe one could include some eco/agro-tourism ideas into the activities concept, as well as low-impact outdoor leisure activities in the wider Rabat area. Also for religious tourism Rabat could then be a good coach group base. Certainly, a disused hotel is one competitor out of the market.

Less known, on account of being less conspicuous, was the Medina Hotel (3 star) in the Nigret area, on the south-west rim of Rabat.

The Xara Palace of Mdina had into the 1980s operated as two-star hotel, after which it was closed, coming back to show that a top-of-the range hotel need not be a big concrete block.

While at it, it would surely boost the capital city, Valletta, if reactivation of buildings as hotels (also in the four or even five-star segment) were encouraged, while helping present operators in the twin and three star field upgrade existing facilities. As a matter of fact, this is now being pushed by the Parliamentary Secretariat for Tourism with EU funds.

Back to Rabat, in the past there were also other guesthouses in “Rabat city” but also in the hamlets, a more exclusive one actually going into liquidation only a few years ago.

But there still is a traditional guesthouse in a prominent location – Point de Vue. Yet it is not listed on the Visitmalta website, because Rabat as a location is missing.

Over the last decade, both in Italy and Spain, small accommodation facilities of regional character and good technical standard have established themselves as part of all successful accommodation mixes – and sometimes even big tour operators take to it, just leaf through e.g. TUI’s Italy catalogue. The internet gives small hospitality enterprises a better chance.

Religious tourism

Rabat and Mdina have a lot to offer particularly with regard to archaeological/cultural as well as religious tourism interest.

Quite recently the MTA participated in the first German fair for religious travel, in Mainz, the capital of Rheinland-Pfalz state, which is just across the Rhine from Frankfurt. With the right product development and marketing one surely could activate more volume on some Air Malta routes (Catholic areas with a 50+ generation with comparatively good/stable incomes) particularly off-peak.

Historic/religious tourism is a niche market which can definitely also be combined with other things, its tourists are off-peak oriented, appreciating culture and character of Malta, and behave respectfully towards locals and locals’ property.

Outdoor activities

Additionally, the wider Rabat area, Malta’s ‘Wild west’, is basically the only one with wider areas of rural character and not jammed by road traffic. Hence it has potential for offpeak outdoor activities not impairing agricultural activity, like countryside rambling/walking combined with sightseeing, niches like bird-watching, biking, or even horse-riding, and some other activities related to agriculture.

The Rabat area is one of the richest regions of Malta in respect to historic sites which are a bit off the track – ranging from Bronze Age to British Empire days. Herein lies potential to combine outdoor and cultural tourism.

Metal asparagus

Rabat has some of the most comparatively unbuilt landscape of Malta on its large local council territory. Nicknamed in Germany as “Metallspargel” (metal asparagus), no way can wind-turbines be sold as eco-tourism attraction as suggested in some media. There are also other issues (birdstrike, on-off shadow). There is no question about developing alternative energies. Yet for Malta there is the sun, maybe even geothermic energy. For wind turbines, maybe Hal Far industrial site indeed would be better.

More than a whistle-stop

Without denigrating, places like St Julian’s or Bugibba are not very characteristic. What is important here is having them in good shape as major tourist bases.

But particularly, the Grand Harbour area and the Rabat and Mdina area are unique locations which remain characteristic of Maltese history. Therefore an expansion of the tourism field must be sensitive but still pushed. Accordingly, hotels should be strengthened, and once developed particular attention should be given to marketing. Finally, this can provide more opportunities for tourism-related businesses, helping them survive and grow, not just a whistle-stop on day excursions.

Matthias A. Merzhäuser

Mudersbach,

Germany