The Mediterranean is the second-largest market for cruises outside of the Caribbean, and rising passenger numbers are putting increasing strain on local populations. Those living near the Grand Harbour know the hardships they must endure when cruise ships cause noise and air pollution when they anchor here.

The EU has introduced the EU Fit for 55 regulations to deal with this problem by insisting that by 2030, all cruise liners must plug into an on-shore power supply (OPS).

Governments across Europe are facilitating ports to install OPS facilities. European ports today account for over 80 per cent of all shore power facilities installed worldwide.

It is good news that the Grand Harbour will now also offer OPS facilities for the cruise ships visiting our island. By 2030, there should be a 90 per cent reduction in the pollution caused by cruise ships in Valletta Cruise Port.

Italy was the first country in the Mediterranean region to install shore power facilities for cruise ships at the Port of Civitavecchia in 2008. To date, shore power facilities are being offered by the six major Italian ports. Other major European ports like Marseille also offer OPS facilities for cruise ships.

The investment in OPS is justified and needs to be extended to the Freeport, our non-commercial port that handles many hundreds of container ships annually.

The maritime industry must become more sustainable and environmentally friendly, especially on a small, heavily built island like Malta. Therefore, besides the Freeport, the OPS facilities must be extended to the Palumbo shipyard in Cospicua. The residents of Cottonera have been complaining long enough with the pollution caused by the shipyard.

However, more must be done to address the more significant challenge that overtourism is causing to the local community’s well-being. As passenger numbers on cruise ships look to breach the pre-pandemic number every year, many European ports where cruise ships drop anchor re-evaluate their presence. Some want to ban them altogether, citing environmental, social and economic concerns.

Malta’s Grand Harbour may not suffer to the same extent because of pollution and overtourism as Venice or Barcellona. However, the focus of tourism policymakers on judging success by the number of visitors we attract to our shores is fallacious.

For instance, the Balearic city of Palma de Mallorca is considering reintroducing limits on cruise liners, which were first imposed in 2022.

They will see only three ships allowed in port daily, with only one permitted to have a capacity of more than 5,000 passengers. Independent research by tourism experts confirms that cruise ship passengers spend just €90 per day in the cities they visit.

Policymakers are ignoring the challenges that overtourism is presenting to the local community. With the increase in population, many rightly challenge the soundness of aiming for even more tourists from the lower end of the market. The strains on the physical infrastructure are obvious, and the adverse effects on the residents’ well-being must no longer be ignored.

Residents in other Mediterranean cities like Marseille and Barcelona are protesting against the increasing number of cruise ship passengers flooding their cities when a cruise ship enters their harbours. So far, we have not seen such protests in Malta (and we hope it does not get to that stage) but the distress of residents is becoming palpable.

It is time for tourism policymakers to stop focusing on solely increasing tourist numbers and concentrate on optimising the returns on our investment by moving away from the low-cost, low-return business model.