Undoubtedly, tourism has become the most significant economic sector for the island. One gets told about it from across a wide range of perspectives: the number of incoming tourists; how many days they stay; the money they spend each on average; where they stay -  hotels - apartments - different areas of Malta and Gozo; what they come for - sun and sea - history - entertainment - diving...; which periods of the year they choose to arrive in; the hotels which exist for their welcome and the news ones being built; the apartments they rent on short let, whether we have too many, whether they're up to standard; what needs to be done to upgrade the quality of tourists coming over; the limits to the volume of tourists the country can carry...

It's a very complex and important policy area. The views and analyses that are raised create contrasts, at times display contradictions. The line between what should be done and what in point of fact is being implemented frequently gets blurred. All things considered, the "official" narratives about tourism coming from both the private and the public sectors are confusing.   

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HOT

The heat wave we've been through in past days reminds one of verses from a once famous song by Noel Coward: Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun. Actually in our case, practically all streets would be deserted by noon. The sun would be so hot (still is) that spending too much time in it could cause health problems.

In continental European countries - France, Belgium, Germany - where heat waves struck earler than here, increases in deaths were recorded. People drowned as they tried to cool down in the sea or in rivers, while in greater numbers, others couldn't cope physically with the heat or lacked the means to protect themselves from it. At the moment, the government's most powerful and useful messages are the warnings which the Maltese authorities have been issuing about what citizens should be doing to protect themselves from the dangers of excessive heat conditions.

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BETTING ADVERTS

As I see it, the adverts which get splashed to promote the "consumption" of betting - in casinos and over the internet - are hypocritical, not to say cynical. Many were to be seen as the World Cup games progressed. During that competition, all over the world it is claimed, betting increased greatly. The question immediately arises - will those who have been persuaded to bet for the first time, now be interested to repeat the experience? Obviously, the sponsors of the advertising will wish them all to "try again"...

The adverts were presented in ways that made them sound objective and crafted with a scientific coolness. They did not carry the enthusiasm projected by say, pizza adverts. The cool approach served to mask the risk that the "game" that was being sold could end up provoking an addiction which cannot easily be shed.  

The ultimate in cynicism though used to come at the end of the advert with the recommendation, cool as well, to "play responsibly". What is considered to be responsible behaviour when bets are being made?