I read this week about the new legal notice that was passed before Parliament to allow 16 and 17-year-old to run for the local council elections and be elected mayors and deputy mayors.  

These are youngsters who have no right to authorize or endorse official documents without the consent of an adult; youngsters who have not got the ability to take strategic or management decisions without the experience required; they are youngsters who are incapable of any serious debate or discussion. Is this parliamentary legislation some kind of “leg-pull”, a joke, a wind- up? Because, frankly, now this government has gone way too far over their remit and they have taken out the seriousness of the office of local councilor and mayor, the civic responsibilities, the sense of belonging and the management of any locality.  These islands are now the laughing stock of the world. If we really thought we have reached the slimy bottom of the barrel we have dug deeper into that slime now!

In my last article, I wrote about the time to take stock of yet another year of non-starters, bad governance, incompetence and arrogance.  How can you govern a country in that state? How can you ensure that you could motivate and encourage your communities to have that sense of belonging, civic pride and responsibility when, frankly, there is this shambolic state of affairs? We speak about tourism growth - this is just a superficial reference to some quantitative measurement related to numbers rather than quality visitors; we even talk about tourism in terms of attracting those visitors who want to be here, but we persist in attracting anyone who is ready to pay and fill the “bums on airline seats”.  I have an endless list of proposals and suggestions made during this year to improve tourism as a socio-cultural activity that add value and give pride to the host community and the visitor, but there is no sign of these ever being implemented. We treat tourism like some cash cow where business is concerned but we also treat so in terms of “jobs for the boys and girls”; we actually pay public servants, politicians and anyone without one modicum of knowledge about tourism, six figure salaries to do absolutely nothing.

I have to say here this situation is shameful, these islands do not deserve the visitor who wants to be here, the visitor whose interest is genuine, culturally driven and quality driven.  Yet, if we persist in following this path in 2024 then tourism will just become a short-term bumpy activity.  I will state here my six proposals to turn around this sad situation: 1) The state of these islands is our responsibility not just that of the authorities or business community – we must act with a civic sense of responsibility here not just be couch potatoes; 2) Speak up locally or through social media to ensure that any hint of bad governance that will affect tourism is known through the four corners of this planet; 3) If you really have a sense of belonging then show it – complain about non-service, hospitality and bad tourism management and persist until that is put right.; 4) Be the catalyst for change by criticizing constructively; 5) Let us work together to finalize the Guidelines to Stewardship and distribute it across these islands; 6) Finally, tourism depends on your attitude, service and hospitality to the visitor – make sure you send out that positive message instead of the sullen look and grunt that most people transmit today. 

Now, in the last week of this eventful, Annus Horibilus, for me and these islands we hear that next year we may be voting for youngsters who have not yet dealt with the challenge of getting out of diapers! Those youngsters who could not string a sentence together, take a serious decision about managing their locality nor even authorise official documents without the consent of an adult.  What is this government really trying to do? Prove that local councils cannot function on these islands?  Take control of all governance again? Become an autocratic regime? I tell you if that is the plan then it will spell the end to any hope of civic responsibility, behavior or even quality tourism in the destination.  Local Councils need to be made up of serioius persons who are mature, professional, committed, trustworthy and civically minded. We are already having problems in localities like Mosta and Birkirkara – to mention just two areas – we need to reinforce the qualities of our councilors not weaken them.  I believe that there are six steps we can take to ensure the future management of our localities: 1) Candidates must be able to prove they have the ability to understand basic management principles including literacy and writing; 2)We must ensure that those putting themselves forward for local council positions have that sense of belonging, civic responsibility, commitment, trust and synergy to take decisions in the interest of the community they represent; 3) Local Councils are not an extension of any local sports, political or social club but it is equivalent to a local government – those elected to the position of councilor must understand this. They need to grow up and face serious responsibilities; 4) By allowing a sixteen year old to stand for local council elections, this government is making a mockery of the office of councilor and of those who vote for these officers – don’t allow anyone to do this to YOU; 5) This series is about being responsible -  I will ask those sixteen year old who have been enticed or are showing interest in standing for local elections.  Sit quietly somewhere and write down six ways in which you feel you are responsible; read them out loud and then see if you really can achieve these six ways; 6) Finally, consider this, a local council is one way in which you can improve your locality in terms of the social, cultural, economic and infrastructural factors. Can you really succeed here? 

By following these six stages, we can ensure that these islands are managed professionally, sustainably and with the idea of developing a quality activity that attracts the visitor who wants to be here not the one who wants to be here.  Travel and Tourism to these islands today is about quantitative gains for the greedy and uncouth. We need to put professionalism and hospitality back in the equation. 

Still more facts in this short article that I hope will continue to encourage more people to write in and assist in the compilation of the Guidelines to Stewardship by Q2 of 2024. Thank you to all those who have already shown their support from as far as the UK, Switzerland and Germany (incidentally three of our key source markets).  If we persist in ignoring these facts then, as I have said, tourism here will be an activity that may just attract sordid and nasty characters instead of the visitor who wants to be here – let us keep persisting. 

In the next months I will be completing the Guidelines for Stewardships with the help of a number of individuals and NGOs who have already approached me and I hope to present this to you, as the community, to our politicians and to our authorities. We may, yet, be able to save these islands from total oblivion as a sustainable and quality tourist destination – that is my New Year’s resolution. Will you join me? Let us get together now to start to compile these guidelines. 

Dr Julian Zarb is a researcher, local tourism planning consultant and an Academic 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.