We seem to have been lulled into a sense of complacency when it comes to policy making and strategy building, especially in the case of tourism. Our parents and grandparents were happy to rely on HM Services for all that they needed; they questioned nothing and accepted most decisions as “for the general good”. But now we seem to have taken this sense of complacency one step further – we have lost our sense of hospitality, we are divided into political factions and what is worse, we have lost that social feel that made visitors welcome here in the past.

As an academic, researcher and local tourism planning consultant I feel that it is not only my right but my duty and responsibility to say things as they are and recommend how we can manage tourism better, sustainably and reliably. This means that we have to adopt that sense of “Civic Tourism” first mooted by Dr Dan Shilling; we need to take ownership of the planning and strategy for tourism and what is even more important we should understand that whether we work directly in the tourism service or not we have a responsibility to ensure the activity delivers quality and a value experience.

We need to start by building a sense of national pride and responsibility; understanding the real meaning for hospitality and service and finally participating in the strategy and planning of tourism policies in future – so move over Mr or Mrs Politician, make way Mr or Mrs Developer and listen carefully Mr and Mrs Businessperson, you own no monopoly on the future of these islands, or any global destination for that matter, you are there to invest responsibly and sustainably and not to act like some dictator!

We need to start by deciding on a set of charters, agreements between us all as the key stakeholders. In the very near future I will be starting a set of courses on Civic Tourism where participants are not the audience but active members who get involved in open discussion rather than listening to monologues. Tourism is a people activity and through an integrated approach we should do our part to present a quality destination instead of a permanent building site that reduces the attractiveness, character, culture and heritage of that destination. Start by paying a visit to some of our towns and villages and notice how the once quaint character of these localities are being neutralized by abstract, cold and aesthetically awful buildings that look more like concrete mausoleums than homes and retail shops that are personal and welcoming. I probably already know that most of you will breeze over this article and take no notice about the importance of the message to “take responsibility for tourism”. Well I have included some simple steps how we can work together in this regard.

In my next article I will discuss the sense about reopening tourism sensibly and sustainably and I will look at how we can manage community-based tourism as an alternative market now that the trend is changing for sun and sea and holidays abroad.

Dr Julian Zarb is a researcher, local tourism planning consultant and a visiting senior lecturer at the University of Malta. He has also been appointed as an expert for the High Streets Task Force in the UK. His main area of research is community-based tourism and local tourism planning using the integrated approach.