Father Castell once more on a mission
On Corpus Christi, a public holiday in Germany’s western and southern (predominantly Catholic) states, a 45-minute episode on second German TV stations’ crime series Ihr Auftrag, Pater Castell again took viewers to Malta. It followed the highly successful 90-minute episode of 13th May (see TMIS, 23 May) and was aired together with another 45-minute episode.
The main action centred on St Mary Magdalene Chapel on Dingli cliffs (the chapel outside Rabat shown in the 90-minute film was the Mtahleb one, not the Kuncizzjoni one, as erroneously mentioned previously), as well as what looked like Gomerino Palace, near Rabat. The Auberge de Bavarie snapshot starred as police headquarters with, it seems, the Sicilia Bar & Restaurant in Valletta for some evening scenes.
According to media industry data, the estimated viewership of the Malta episode was 3.89 million or 13.1 per cent of market share on this warm sunny day, and the second most popular programme on the day.
Do the Maltese live in Popeye Village?
The 5th June edition of the Rhein-Zeitung, the leading newspaper in the southwestern state of Rheinland-Pfalz, carried an article about Malta in its travel section.
However, instead of dealing with the sights, or some activity, only films were mentioned that were partly shot in Malta but did not represent Malta, and stories that included someone who has the shoes that Roger Moore wore when he was in Malta 40 or so years ago. The illustration showed Popeye Village without the explanation underneath it or in the text, meaning that German readers might assume that this is a typical Maltese village consisting of wooden shacks in a desolate canyon by the sea.
Indeed, first of all the main responsibility is with the journalist. However, usually, in practice when one compiles a programme, or chooses what journalists who are taken around are going to see, is what one wants to be transmitted.
Films where Malta doubles for somewhere else bring good money to Malta. Popeye Village surely entertains kids. Nobody doubts that.
The question is only if destination Malta really has nothing else to offer, even considering a ‘human interest’ touch, as explained to reporters flown in and accommodated probably for good money.
It should be observed that the 7th June edition (the programme is not aired on Sunday) carried a full-page report about walking through the landscape of northern Portugal (Porto region) taking in architectural and other cultural sights of the towns, as well as agro-touristic aspects regarding winemaking. In the 8th June edition there was a full page about Holland, typical windmills and all, which included a large advert by the Dutch tourist board and, apart from descriptions about the aspects of destination Holland, there were ads for hotels and self-catering facilities. With the Malta article there was no advert.
Malta: A great value-for-money short trip destination
Coming back to TV, ZDF’s consumer programme WISO regularly sends a reporter on short trips to European destinations, where he has to try not to spend more than €150 A visit to Malta was aired in March.
The reporter, who arrived by Lufthansa from Frankfurt (ZDF is in Mainz, only 30kms away from Frankfurt International), found the weather somewhat ‘British’ (rainy), using this to give a short overview of Maltese history.
The Asti Guesthouse in Valletta’s St Ursola Street was chosen for accommodation, giving views of the small but impressive entrance hall in traditional ‘converted’ style, and mentioning the €20 per person night rate. So a budget accommodation but with architectural character that is clean, friendly and in a good location can get good marks.
Due to main season hotel rates, the reporter advised visiting Malta during the off-peak months. With the flights from Germany there was no such advice: during the peak summer months, Lufthansa/Air Malta charge €100 less than Ryanair’s end price (including charges and comparable luggage) from the same departure area on same days to southern Italy.
For the evening, some tavern or restaurant in Valletta was visited. During the day, the reporter had a honey ring snack at Cafe Cordina, highlighting its special flair and classic interior.
The reporter praised the Maltese bus system with its user-friendly prices and frequencies and the charming ancient buses, proudly showing his ticket. In many parts of Germany, if there is any public transport worthy of note at all, a trip similar in length to Valletta-Zurrieq, which costs 47c, easily costs well over €3 one-way, very disproportionate also to wages.
For tourism, maybe some traditional Malta buses from the 1950s and early 1960s could in some way or other remain operational. While indeed some buses next stop should be the junk-yard (including ‘coaches’ ‘only’ 35-40 years old that sound like rattlesnakes). There are also owners and drivers who take a lot of pride in their vehicles and kept the tough Maltese classics in good order – not only, but particularly in Gozo. An opportunity for a scheduled route could be the planned Bugibba-Rabat-Zurrieq-Marsaxlokk-Marsascala one, anyway intended mostly for tourists.
Described as one of Malta’s most beautiful sites, the magnificent Blue Grotto view from the viewpoint in Zurrieq, with its refurbished sidewalk down Wied Babu road, was highlighted for a stroll. Let’s hope that the Delimara excavation material will not, at least as reportedly planned, be trucked along Zurrieq village and Wied Babu via the temples, so exactly along one of Malta’s major scenic strolls (maltastar 23 May: “The state of Malta”).
Mentioning Delimara, Marsaxlokk, known for its traditional Maltese core village, promenade houses, fishing boats and market, was also visited. One will see what impact the new big oil terminal will have on the quality of life of residents, the future of jobs in the local hospitality sector, and value of residential and commercial property.
A new electric bus in Gozo replacing a well-kept diesel doing only a few kilometres hence less emissions per day and with good life still left in it (thus could have saved lots of CO² by deferring the very CO²-intensive production of a premature replacement), might also be little consolation for Marsaxlokk residents and tourism services: saving on small emission sources, only to then attract unfiltered HFO exhaust from tanker engines maybe wafting onto the plates of restaurants’ patrons while enjoying the view of a possible HFO power station.
Speaking of food, the reporter ‘spoilt himself’ with a €45 fish lunch, mentioning that one can also have less elaborate meals at a lower price.
What he especially appreciated was all these sights of Malta in a small area.
As a final countryside activity, the reporter took a one-hour horse ride near a beach in northern Malta. The price of €40 for a one-hour ride appeared a bit much.
Indeed, in Poland, just behind the German border near Frankfurt/Odra (near Berlin), a week’s 12-hour course including full-board accommodation costs €240 and a week in lodgings on full board with six four- to five-hour (German- or English-speaking) guided riding excursions (minimum two participants) costs a family-friendly €340 per person. But in Malta horse purchase and upkeep is way more expensive.
So, apart from the ‘British’ weather at the beginning, Malta came out very positively in this short TV feature as a good value-for-money short break destination with lots to see during the off-peak season … and if one wants to see more, why not return for a longer stay?
Items like the ZDF budget short trip report that concretely showed the potential customer what one can see, do, expect price-wise, are apparently worth incomparably more than ‘famous face’ things like taking a photo with a tennis or football player, and maybe paying them tons for it, believing that customers in source markets, particularly those with an above average education that Malta aims to attract, are really going somewhere or are interested because on one of the thousands of photos of (ex-)star X or ‘celebrity’ Z, it is quoted as having been taken in Malta, or even with the name Malta somewhere small on a board in the background with no info.