The tourism industry does not care about the residential community. Slowly, over the years, it has taken over beaches and large stretches of the coastline. In addition, it has taken over pavements in all parts of the islands, inundating them with tables and chairs.
Why should the tourism industry care? It is buttressed by a business-friendly government which encourages it, protects it and dishes out subsidies to assist it. All it has to do is make hay, while the sun shines.
All this is done at the expense of the residential community which has to bear the consequences.
The recent demonstrations in the Canary Islands, Barcelona and Mallorca against the negative impacts of tourism on the residential communities is indicative that the problem is not just a local one. Some weeks ago, the BBC even reported on the world’s revolt against what was described as “bad tourism”.
The issue is one of overtourism.
The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) chief Tony Zahra, has described the current hotel construction spree as pure madness. This was quantified in a report by The Shift, earlier this week, through an analysis of Planning Authority information. It has been identified that 99 new hotels are currently in the pipeline.
This was already discussed in the report commissioned by the MHRA and published almost two years ago. The report, entitled Carrying Capacity Study for Tourism in the Maltese Islands, was compiled by Deloitte. The Deloitte report had, in 2022, identified that we would require around 4.7 million tourists annually to ensure an 80 per cent capacity of the tourist beds currently available or projected.
In the meantime, 2,975,670 tourist arrivals were recorded in 2023. Arrivals at the Malta International Airport (MIA) are reaching record numbers of passenger movements month in, month out. The 4 million mark was breached in June and MIA is projecting a staggering 8 million mark by December 2024, slightly above the 7.8 million attained in December 2023!
These numbers are indicative of a developing overtourism which is subsidised by the taxpayer. We need to remind ourselves continuously that the local taxpayer currently forks out millions, annually, to subsidise the operation of low-cost airlines.
Overtourism is causing a number of problems. Among the issues contributing to a developing tourist phobia are social discomfort, environmental degradation (including both generation of waste and excessive construction activity), traffic congestion, noise, the loss of cultural identity and socio-cultural clashes. This is made worse by an industry which does not care. In fact, it is only concerned with its financial bottom line.
Once upon a time we were told that tourism creates a substantial number of jobs. What kind of jobs, may I ask, does today’s tourism create? We find a possible answer in Deloitte’s report commissioned by MHRA.
The Deloitte report informs us, that, in 2009, 82 per cent of those employed in the tourism sector were Maltese. By 2019 this statistic had decreased to 40.6 per cent. A staggering decrease in excess of 50 per cent in a ten-year period! The report does not offer any specific explanation for this. Reliance on poor remuneration of seasonal and part-time labour is a most probable contributor to the situation.
The problem still persists in the tourism industry. Some days ago, in fact, it was reported in the media that Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) chief Pierre Fenech, during an MHRA conference, angered hoteliers when he claimed that they are refusing to employ Maltese nationals.
At the end of the day, these are the tourism jobs being created. Taxpayers’ monies could definitely be invested more wisely.
The conflicting interests and agendas involved in tourism must be addressed. So far, the tourism operators pocket the profits and we, the rest, face the impacts. The residential communities in various localities are voicing their concerns. Their concerns are similar to those of residents of Barcelona, Mallorca and the Canary Islands. “Tourist, please, respect my land.”
It is about time that the residents’ voice is heard, their message understood and acted upon without further delay.
An architect and civil engineer, the author is a former Chairperson of ADPD-The Green Party in Malta. [email protected] , http://carmelcacopardo.wordpress.com