I have read in the Maltese newspapers, and have seen many times on the internet and on social networks, that the Maltese government is considering allowing owners of 4 and 5 star hotels to raise the height of their hotels without a set limit. This is a grave mistake. Malta was my home during my early teenage years and, like many of us Brits, I fell in love with the island. I have never been lucky enough to return, but if I were to, I would not be looking to stay in a high-rise, multi-storey hotel or, on the whole, expect the island to cater for anything other than what it can be and has been over its history. Malta is a global treasure and even though I have no problem with progress, I am passionate that it should not be at the expense of the past.

Tourists come to Malta for what is characteristic of your islands, not just the sea and sand, but the beautiful old architecture and landscapes. If we wanted an urban jungle of tall buildings and modern architecture, we would go elsewhere.

Tall buildings may suit a handful of hoteliers now, but when their skyscrapers start throwing the beaches and streets of your tourist towns into deep shade, every hotel will suffer as tourists seek other resorts where the beaches enjoy the sun all day long. This shade will be worst from October to April, which is when you need tourists most in Malta. Instead of focusing on bringing tourists in the low season, as you used to do in the past, you now seem to be focusing on building more bedrooms that will be vacant in winter, leading to a price war as hotels will undercut each other just to cover costs.

Malta has already suffered and is not what it used to be, due to over-development. All you need is more cranes, traffic jams, noise and dirt to really send the tourists to other destinations!

Denise Favager

UNITED KINGDOM