Tourism Minister Michael Refalo told The Malta
Independent on Sunday that he does not take a holiday in summer in order
to oversee the country’s tourism industry.
This is a good gesture which will surely be
appreciated by all those involved in tourism.
While Dr Refalo is overseeing the progress of the industry we suggest he
has a good look at the tourism product which this country offers to its
many tourists. That is where the main problem in tourism lies, and not
in the marketing of Malta.
Of course, most of the areas that need improving lie outside the control
and responsibility of the Minister for Tourism, but that is precisely
why such a Minister sits in the Cabinet, so that he may discuss with his
colleagues how best to improve the tourism product.
We can never forget that tourism is responsible for 25 per cent of the
country’s GDP and it therefore requires special attention by both the
government and the population at large.
The Malta Tourism Authority is doing a good job at creating a national
awareness on the importance of tourism, but this is not enough. We need
to improve our product, which the MTA cannot do.
The environment, for a start, needs a lot of improving. Malta is still
far too dirty and our countryside is littered with rubbish. We are yet
to formulate a structured waste management programme. The construction
industry causes too much shabbiness and dust everywhere.
Our beaches are not clean enough and most of them lack any proper
facilities. Raw sewage is still pumped into the sea and recent incidents
of burst drainage pipes have made certain beaches not fit for swimming.
Most of our tourists, most of whom come from northern Europe are shocked
at the state of our environment.
Our roads and public transport system is another problem. Although there
have been some improvements in the maintenance of our roads we still
have very long way to go. It is no exaggeration to say that a good
number of our roads are in an appalling state.
Our public transport system is even worse. Taxis are ridiculously
expensive and the government simply does not have the courage to do
anything about it. Why are there no air conditioned modern coaches to at
least take tourists to Sliema, St Julian’s or Valletta? After all, all
modern international airports have various transport services available
such as taxis, buses or a metro system.
We also need to improve our level of service in many of our restaurants
and some of our hotels. Perhaps the government should make it mandatory
for people in this sector to go through some training before being
employed. However, it is also the responsibility of the owners of
certain establishments to ensure that their staff are adequately trained
before coming into contact with our foreign guests.
Naturally, we still believe that Malta has a lot to offer: we are
English speaking, we have a number of very good hotels, an excellent
climate, good food and entertainment and we have a great history as well
as unique characteristics.
But in today’s very competitive world, we need to work much harder.
