Can we control the tide of tourist arrivals

Malta in the past was very conscious of attracting quality tourism, yet recently one notices a gradual degradation in quality tourists. 

Last year, as has been the case with other Med resorts, Malta also had an increase in arrivals.  Statisticians tell us there is safety in numbers, yet so far nobody bothers about over capacity.  

MHRA, of late woke up to point out the danger of over tourism and the need for better control on new licenses for hotels.  The island could see an additional 483 hotels crop up if all the planned tourism accommodation projects in the pipeline ever come to fruition.  But who cares.  These facts were shared during the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, latest hospitality forum (sponsored by Bank of Valletta) during which a presentation was delivered by Deloitte.

A pivotal aspect was the latest situation of hotel occupancy.  Inter Alia, the study revealed how a vast majority of planned new accommodations (41%) are designed to be 3-star offerings, which means such projects might not necessarily align with the national vision to accommodate “high quality” tourists.  Currently the per capita spend by tourists is a low €15.9 daily.  

At this junction, the reality of hosting a deluge of “hamburger” class arrivals, one may stop and question why are we kicking the can?  Deloitte exclaimed concern about how the incidence of 3-star and other planned accommodations which are set to have less than 100 rooms, throwing into question whether these can survive in the long term. 

Doing the sums, unless they employ more low-wage TCN’s, even new 5-star accommodations may not be sustainable.  For many years, established hotels and other stakeholders in the tourist industry are concerned seeing their share of the cake dwindling.  

This share is diminishing with the planned permits for large scale new builds.  Another MHRA study revealed a shocking message that the island would need to see 4.7 million tourists a year to keep its present occupancy rates afloat.  It is good to remind readers that regrettably we see Comino (with a unique blue lagoon beach) being flooded with day trippers, dirtying its environs, all dancing to loud dance music provided by five licensed kiosks selling spirit imbibed grapefruits.  

Blue Lagoon operators running kiosks, water sports activities, deckchair rentals and other commercial services will likely face higher encroachment and permit fees starting in summer this year.  Speaking on Times Talk last month, the new tourism minister Ian Borg vowed to “clean up” Comino, add sanitary facilities and introduce stricter and fairer concessions for boat, kiosk and deckchair operators.  He felt committed to issue tenders (instead of direct orders as was the previous practice) for all future concessions guaranteeing transparency and fairness.  

Another parallel problem facing the island is over-population which again last summer has led to persistent power cuts (sporadically supplemented by portable noisy diesel generators parked outside residential areas and clinics).  No doubt, such blackouts add to infrastructure pressures resulting from chaotic traffic and sewage issues. 

Sewage blockage issues is a key problem, with stakeholders saying sewage networks are operating “vastly beyond designed capacity in certain key areas” which often results in sewage seeping into the sea.  The consequences of Iran war have targeted Middle East resorts such as Cyprus which is very popular with British tourists.  

Some may consider Malta and eventually add to our over-capacity dilemma.  Can we do something to turn the clock back to serenity?  Yes, just notice how competitors in the central Mediterranean, such as Spain and Venice started a policy to disincentivise excessive tourism in certain periods, in line with the fragility and uniqueness of the resorts.

Needless to remind readers about rallies in the Canary Islands where residents have highlighted problems of over-tourism.  They also increasingly want a better type of tourist: one who respects local culture and nature, not one who drinks cheap beer on the beach and leaves their empty bottle behind with a cigarette butt stubbed in the sand. 

According to tourism researcher and Aalborg University professor Carina Ren, there have always been badly behaved tourists; it’s just that there are more of them now than ever.  

In Spain’s Balearic Islands, renowned for nightlife destinations such as Ibiza and Magaluf, restrictions on alcohol have come into force in a bid to regain control over its disorderly streets.  Moving on, we note how in heavily visited Venice, day trippers now are charged a fee to try to stem the flow of unending visitors.  

Whereas, in Malta citizens simply grumble in silence, regularly air their grievances in social media, yet they never unite and march to Valletta voicing their anger against a noticeable degradation in the environment.  Can we learn from other resorts to live a quieter life and protect our sensitive ecosystem.

A sustainable model requires planning, restraint and the willingness to say ‘enough’ when systems reach their limit.