Despite the troubles that Air Malta has suffered, and despite the global economic slowdown, we still seem to be raking in the tourists.

Some are repeat visitors, others are high-income visitors, others are business travellers, others are weekend travellers, others are budget travellers, others are cultural visitors and others still, come from far-off countries.

The fact of the matter is that Malta has appeal and it is being marketed well. We keep getting more and more visitors and they are coming back for the right reasons. It seems to be that Malta “is the place to be”.

We were once regarded as a cheap and ‘safe bet’ for the traditional British tourist seeking sun, sand and sea and people who could communicate well in the English language. But we have diversified. We have become a premier diving destination. Progress in this field continues to be registered because we have excellent instruction schools and great underwater attractions. The sector needs investment in terms of more attractions and infrastructure and this is slowly happening – but more needs to be done. The diving industry also has the support of Air Malta, which increases baggage allowance for diving visitors.

The government and Heritage Malta (along with other NGOs) are going to great lengths to restore Malta and Gozo’s historical gems, with hundreds of restoration projects going on simultaneously. In addition, Malta is embracing and promoting its culture. Rather than ‘excluding’ tourists from our agricultural, religious and Mediterranean life, it is becoming a huge selling point as people flock to enjoy our way of life with us.

The move to ban all pumping of untreated sewage out to sea has also seen a huge improvement in our bathing water quality, so much so that we have the second cleanest waters in the Mediterranean. The service we offer can, at times, be lacklustre, but we are also improving in this regard too. People involved in tourism at any level, now know that repeat business (and therefore long-term survival) depends on repeat visitors and good advertising by word of mouth.

It has been a slow and steady evolution, with all partners in the sector trying to work together to get better results. That means attracting more people to Malta, getting them to stay longer and spend more. But there is one golden rule – they must return home as happy customers, feeling they have experienced something unique.

If we can continue to do that, we will be fine. There is much talk of sustainable tourism. This is an important point. We must realise where saturation point is and from that point onwards, we should not burden our islands further. The fact of the matter is that while we are improving Malta and Gozo, we are also changing them. Some argue that this changes the character of our nation as a tourist destination and they could well be right. Just as we spoke of saturation point, we need to realise that we cannot continue to change Malta beyond recognition. There is a cut-off point and we must find out where it is. Malta is what it is precisely because of its quirky nature. One such example is the old colourful buses. While service has improved, we cannot deny that tourists miss them.

And that is the question… at what price, progress?