Editorial | The goose that lays the golden eggs ... and how we risk killing it

The tourist industry has so far been largely supported by local communities who see in it the promise of national prosperity and job opportunities. But operators in this sector must not take this for granted

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Tourism has been on an upward  trend for the past decade increasing from 1.2 million in 2007 to 1.4 million in 2012 to a staggering 2.6 million in 2018.

This growth in numbers, propped by low cost airlines and professional branding, definitely contributes to Malta’s economic success story, injecting the economy with cash which is spent here. The multiplier effect of tourism is undeniable as tourists spur a demand for a variety of services ranging from catering to recreational and cultural events.   

This has also contributed to make Malta a livelier place. Tourism in what were referred as shoulder months has also grown to the extent that the country has become an all year destination.

But this is also  bound to have a direct impact on the infrastructure, energy and water demand, land use pressures, the over crowding of beaches, noise pollution and gentrification of our cities.

Moreover tourism itself is also contributing to the increase in foreign workers who have filled in niches of the labour market which are shunned by Maltese, partly because wages are considered low and partly because there are other opportunities.  

This makes tourism a major contributor to the increase in population we have seen in the past few years. Planning policies have been changed to allow extra floors on hotels over and above height limits in local plans. Added to these are mega projects which also include within them hotels.

All this contributes to the kind of construction mayhem which the tourist industry often complains about. It also creates more bed spaces, which have to be filled up, raising fears of over capacity and pressure to keep increasing tourist levels over and above the present record numbers.

And while tourism has surely benefitted from Valletta being the cultural capital of Europe in 2018, the capital city is now being taken over by a craze for boutique hotels, a veritable case of going from one extreme (a city in decline with few accommodation facilities) to one where tourism is taking over spaces which may well be used to enrich the cultural experience of Maltese and foreigners alike.  

The closure of the City Lights cinema and its replacement by a boutique hotel comes across as a missed opportunity, considering the creative way this cinema has been put to use in recent years.  

Admittedly, Valletta is far more livelier than it was just a decade ago and this makes it more attractive to tourists and local alike. The risk is that having too many hotels may actually rob the city of its dynamism.

Moreover, there have been contradictory pressures, with the industry caught between its desire for a quality tourism which requires a five-star environment while at the same time still aspiring for greater numbers of tourists.

The tourist industry has also had mixed views on the proposed Gozo tunnel with some like Tony Zahra, the president of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, fearing that Gozo would lose it charm.

Others like Dorothy Baldachino, interviewed in this edition of Business Today, welcome the tunnel project, seeing a need for a permanent link between the two islands, but insist on the need for Gozo remaining “a green retreat.”  

Others yet may be less cautious seeing the tunnel as a money spinner-an easier way to bring hordes of day trippers to the island.

The tourist industry has so far been largely supported by local communities who see in it the promise of national prosperity and job opportunities. But operators in this sector must not take this for granted.  

The mood has changed dramatically in Mediterranean tourism hotspots like Venice and Barcelona where residents are protesting against what they increasingly see as a disruption of their every day life.  

To avert this, the industry needs some introspection. The government is also duty-bound to look at other after-effects, like air pollution from the use of heavy fuel in cruise liners which impacts on the harbour area. A report issued by Birdlife last year showing that Cruise ships visiting Malta  belong to the worst category ranking for environmental impact in terms of emissions, should act as an eye opener.

The temptation is to overlook these problems and make hay while the sun shines. But the risk in that is that by continuously fattening the goose laying the golden eggs, we risk killing it.

One sure way of doing this is to ignore the local communities whose hospitality has supported the industry since the 1960s.

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