Our postwar history has been marked by two favourable development factors: the march of decolonisation and the global spread of international tourism. In recent years, we have experienced great success in expanding our tourism industries. The industry is an economic lifeline and driver of development for our country. Tourism is an important contributor to Malta's economy, directly supporting more than 33,180 jobs and around 14.9% of total employment. Domestic tourism in Malta is relatively small. It consists primarily of flows between Malta and the second island of Gozo, although there is a small but growing trend for residents of the main island to stay overnight in hotels on Malta.

We are heavily dependent on export revenues from tourism to service our heavy debt burdens. Debts that are primarily a result of our disproportionate vulnerability to climate change. However, global travel restrictions imposed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic have devastated this important economic sector of Malta. Besides us, the sharp decline in international tourism is having a significant macroeconomic impact on island states. Undoubtedly, it is a vital source of revenue for community livelihoods, disaster recovery, biodiversity and cultural heritage preservation. Many are now facing debt to GDP ratios over the thresholds for sustainable debt defined by the International Monetary Foundation.

One cannot express enough the severity of our situation and we must be aware that what was a crisis of liquidity might be evolving into a solvency crisis. Basically, we have been restructuring a big chunk of our economy towards mass tourism and related construction. The results have transformed our insular landscape and created a pleasure periphery. However, much of this growth has been overly rapid, unplanned and intrusive and has damaged our insular ecosystem. Large scale coastal infrastructure has disfigured our shorelines and polluted nearshore waters with sewage. We have seen a decline in renewable resource uses. The tourist industry itself is a major source of both formal and informal employment. The job losses occurring as a result of the crisis could be impacting the most vulnerable workers, including those dependent on micro, small and medium enterprises as well as women and young people.

While it is a driver of economic development, our tourism is also contributing to the greatest crisis our island nation faces: climate change. Malta’s tourism industry directly or indirectly contributes to our total amount of greenhouse gas emissions and can lead to ecosystems degradation and biodiversity loss. The recent crisis in our tourist sector has forced us to reimagine existing practices and systems. As many have proclaimed, this pivotal moment presents an opportunity to rethink the way tourism interacts with our society, economy and ecosystem. So, how can we create a tourism economy that thrives in harmony with nature, a model which is integrated into our national economy, promotes inclusivity and preserves the cultural and ecological dignity of our islands?

We need to support a green recovery and catalyze transformational change. The blue economy paradigm allows us to embrace a systems approach to explore how tourism can become a driver for restoration and recovery, capable of building economic resilience, anchoring local economies in sustainability and generating greener livelihoods. The key is to catalyze private sector investment at scale in activities that promote biodiversity conservation and reduce ecosystem degradation while generating growth. Diversifying tourism products through non-traditional, marine-based tourism, such as diving, surfing and other sports tourism, is one option to help expand income sources for local communities. Digital transformation can be a powerful accelerator for inclusion, competitiveness and sustainability. Digital upskilling and reskilling of workers is necessary. Digital creative industries can introduce new non-exploitive tourism products and social media can act as a tool to change consumer behaviour.

There is a trend in travel that has picked up a lot of steam over the last few years. That trend is called eco-tourism. As environmental welfare and sustainability have become more important to people over the last decade (and especially so in the last couple of years), travel companies in Malta must try to cash in on people’s willingness to spend lots of money in the name of environmental protection. They must have environmental credentials in an effort to lure customers and create a positive image. Eco-tours could market themselves as a low impact, environmental and community-friendly way to see our Islands. With the exception of a few tour operators, rarely do you see companies trying to help the local communities in any significant way. They operate big tours with underpaid local staff and export lots of money to headquarters instead of keeping it in the local economy. Just because they hire local staff does not mean they are “giving back” to the community to help it grow.

I see promise and hope in sustainable tourism. To me, this is different from eco-tourism. Eco-tourism to me is about not damaging the environment and providing a little education, but sustainable tourism is about living and growing with the environment and the local cultures. Sustainable tourism requires new thinking and this can be found mostly with small scale operators. These operators could change their business structure so as to have as minimal an impact on the environment as possible. They can buy local goods, use local services, treat their employees well, use few resources and try hard to help rebuild the environment and educate tourists. They could make an impact instead of contributing to over-tourism.

Community-led tourism that creates meaningful local ownership is crucial to ensuring the sustainability of the industry. People stand at the heart of tourism and many are deeply dependent on the industry and find themselves in extremely precarious employment situations. We need a tourism industry that acts as a driver of equitable and inclusive development. National tourism strategies must be people-centred, positioning communities in leadership roles that empower them to shape the future of the industry. We must encourage a deeper cultural exchange and understanding than traditional sand-sea-sun tourism.

Dr Mark Said is an advocate