Labour launches draft tourism revival plan

The Malta Labour Party yesterday launched its draft plan on how the tourist industry could be revived.

The document was launched by Labour leader Alfred Sant and spokesmen Evarist Bartolo and Joseph Cuschieri in the presence of the two deputy leaders Michael Falzon and Charles Mangion.

Dr Sant appealed to people interested in the sector to submit their remarks about the document, to be discussed within the party structures with a view to have it ready for approval by the Labour Party general conference in January.

It was clear that the sector had to be embraced holistically and there was no one solution to the many ills the tourist industry was suffering from, Dr Sant said.

Niche markets should be identified and given due importance. Air Malta too should be given utmost attention while low-cost airlines should be encouraged, especially from places which Malta was seeking to attract more tourists.

The Malta Tourism Authority should be reformed and do more to attract tourists, Dr Sant said. Gozo should be one of the niche markets that has to be promoted on its own and Comino can also be used for tourism purposes, but no more construction should take place on the tiny islet.

Mr Bartolo said just over 8,000 people were directly employed in the tourism sector when MTA forecasts had indicated there should be 12,400. Some of those involved in tourism were turning to other businesses because the industry was ailing, Mr Bartolo said.

This re-routing of investment was resulting in fewer beds and it was ironic that while the MTA was trying to attract tourists, all beds in August would be taken up and Malta has had to turn tourists away.

Malta needed more hotels but these should not be built on virgin land.

"There is no miracle cure through which one could leap instead of walk. So we have to take a series of small steps that form part of a broader picture so that one could develop the sector," Mr Bartolo said.

Gozo deserved to have a marketing strategy in its own right and should start to benefit from cruise line passengers too. The helicopter service had to be subsidised to make it affordable and viable; it was ironic that people were buying helicopter tickets when booking their flights from abroad, only to find that the flight is cancelled because there were not enough bookings to make the flight viable, Mr Bartolo said.

The document proposes the Maghtab landfill be rehabilitated and a golf course be accommodated there instead of it taking up unspoilt land. The golf course at Marsa should be upgraded while a golf course should be built at Ta' Cenc where MEPA had indicated.

But no buildings, like blocks of flats or apartments, should be allowed near golf courses and these would have to stand on their own, Dr Sant said.