The dire situation in which Malta’s tourism sector finds itself has rightly become a national concern. The government can no longer continue pretending that all is well. Even the pre-budget document published a fortnight ago, “confesses” this situation, although no political responsibility is being taken by the document’s author, Tonio Fenech. Labour nags incessantly but all it says is that there should be a plan for tourism – what should be in that plan remains Labour’s own secret. The situation is indeed worrying. What is particularly preoccupying is the mounting feeling of despair being felt by the industry, as well as the general public. Some already believe that the situation is beyond repair. The Greens, addicted to perseverance at all costs, think otherwise. Hopelessness will get us nowhere. We have to make a collective effort to pull the industry out of the mire in which many had predicted it would end up. Nobody in this country has an interest in watching the industry fail. It accounts for almost 15 per cent of our GDP, is the nation’s largest employer and its second largest exporter. Failure is not an option here.
The tourism minister has recently gone on record saying that the Greens have damaged tourism. Why? Catch this one – because our environmental spokesperson Mark Causon reported the leakage of drainage into the sea in Bugibba. The minister’s puerile remark deserves no comment. Instead I will use this article to tackle five issues in tourism that the Greens believe need immediate addressing, and in which the industry image and performance can achieve some quick and effective results, without any great effort or unbearable cost.
Low cost airlines
This debacle must be settled, once and for all. While recognising the obvious conflicts of interest in this issue, the worst is indecision. The industry stakeholders have to know what the immediate future is going to look like, with or without low-cost. The government has tried to negotiate a piecemeal solution by indicating routes that are not well served, but I believe that the big low-cost operators will not play ball on these terms. Something tells me that the introduction of low-cost airlines to our market is a question of “when”, not “if”. Like the Malta Drydocks, downsizing seems to be the inevitable outcome, except if government were to explore an alternative strategy that I would like to propose here. That strategy is for Air Malta to spin-off part of its fleet and a number of its employees and set-up a low-cost carrier as a subsidiary; it could also invite the public to invest. In this way we can expand the routes that are not serviced, retain more of Air Malta’s staff and make low-cost travel a reality for both tourists and locals, on our terms. It may sound impossible, but if British Airways managed with GO Airlines why can’t we? Now, that’s one heck of a challenge for Austin Gatt! Apart from selling everything the government owns, is he able to create something?
Product Malta
How many times have we heard this expression? Fundamentally it is the experience we offer visitors from the time they touch down at Safi till their return back home. In this area, cleanliness (or more aptly, the lack of it) and shabbiness are Malta’s sorest points. Just for starters, can I propose a number of cheap and effective initiatives? First, can we oblige building contractors to close off building sites with the necessary netting or screens? Can we do this, with a legal notice, quickly? Second, can we make it mandatory that all new buildings are finished off with external apertures? Third, can we, in the summer season, have all tourist promenades washed (not barely swept) every morning before tourists hit our streets? Fourth, can we avoid public works in tourist areas in the summer months (the Ghar id-Dud promenade being done now is a bad case in point)? Fifth, can we forbid contractors to start cutting or digging or performing any other noisy activity in tourist areas before 9am? Can we force builders to vacuum the dust they create when cutting stone? Can we paint the street lines in our streets? Can we do any of these? One of them? Can somebody, can anybody, at the Tourist Authority please get off his/her backside and start shouting down the phone?
Public Transport
The area that never seems to grab anybody’s attention is the effect our so-called “public transport” system has on our tourism product. I happen to use the bus service regularly. The “service” offered at times is horrendous; it is Malta’s national embarrassment, but nobody apart from the Greens seems to recognise this. The stark reality is that many of our tourists use this service and their experience will stay with them for weeks after their vacation – they will recount that experience to prospective visitors. We have to stop kidding ourselves, and face reality. Our old buses are only quaint on postcards. The Malta bus experience, particularly in the summer, is claustrophobic, smelly and suffocating. The attitude of a number of drivers is disgraceful. I have no magic formulas to overhaul the system overnight. However, I can propose three quick measures to make travelling on a Maltese bus a bit more bearable for our tourists. First, all radio and/or cassette players must be removed from the buses immediately – travellers should not have to listen to the driver’s favourite DJ on their journey. Second, the major tourist routes must be serviced by our best and newest buses; air-conditioned in both summer and winter. Third, and this may raise some eyebrows, drivers must be screened for behaviour and those with an attitude problem must be taken off tourist routes immediately. If they can’t change their attitude (quickly) they should not be allowed to service any route.
Gozo
In Gozo, tourism accounts for much more than 15 per cent of GDP, perhaps as much as 30 per cent. While the failure of tourism in Malta would result in a crisis, in Gozo it would be apocalyptic. Let’s face it – with the disappearance of most manufacturing in Gozo, employment opportunities for Gozitans outside tourism (which are mostly part-time and/or seasonal anyway) are few and not particularly remunerative. Sadly, the government is still intent on sustaining Gozo’s tourism through mega projects (bridges, airport terminals, flats, golf courses, village-marinas etc.) that will take decades to complete, will rape the island’s natural beauty and damage the prospects for niche tourism permanently. What can be done in the short term? The initiative the Greens would like to propose here is related to the market for Maltese tourists, a sector that is vital to Gozo. We suggest that in the off-peak season, the price of a ferry ticket for a Malta resident should be cut drastically. If we really want to deal with the double-insularity issue, the cost of a journey (when demand is low) should not be any more dearer than the most expensive bus ticket – 50c. More subsidies? Why not? Austin Gatt may cringe till he turns blue all over. If there is enough money to subsidise his personal driver and the other 15 ministers’ drivers, as well as the opposition leader’s driver (who does not drive), surely there is money for Gozo. The Gozitans are rightfully sick and tired of patronising and futile talk about double insularity and other condescending clichés from across the channel. We have to put our money where our mouth is.
Leadership
Every crisis, and tourism is in one, requires a leader. This is the toughest perhaps insurmountable obstacle the industry faces. The Tourism Authority’s new chairman, Sam Mifsud is knowledgeable, energetic, focused and comes with a superb track record. Sadly however, he will be reporting to a minister whose reluctance to call it a day, would be comical if it weren’t so politically selfish! The Prime Minister’s inability to remove him places serious doubt on his own leadership abilities. By being kind to the minister and his canvassers, Gonzi is being cruel to both Malta and Gozo.
Failure is not an option with tourism. Even with the minister replaced, success will not come with grand strategic reports or branding gimmicks that truly deserve all the disdain they are receiving. A serious and sustainable turnaround will be achieved only when we learn how to do the little things right, first time and every time. It is more an issue of execution than strategy. In tourism the devil is ever more in the detail.
Edward Fenech is spokesperson on Finance, the Economy and Tourism of Alternattiva Demokratika – The Green Party
