Malta divided over tourist numbers: Times of Malta poll

Locals are split over whether Malta’s tourist arrivals are at a tipping point, a new Times of Malta poll shows, with views largely shaped by where a person lives and who they typically vote for.

As Malta braces itself for yet another record influx of tourists over the summer months, with arrivals likely to top the four million mark for the first time, residents appear unsure about when too much is too much.

The poll, carried out by market research experts Esprimi in early April, asked people over the age of 16 what they made of Malta’s tourist numbers.

Pollsters found that 51 per cent of locals believe the number of tourists travelling to Malta is “just about right”.  On the other hand, almost as many, 45 per cent, describe tourist arrivals as “excessive”.

The remaining four per cent would like to see Malta receiving even more tourists, describing current numbers as “insufficient”.

However, the poll shows, opinions vary sharply according to where a person happens to live, as well as which of the two major parties they support.

Residents in several of Malta’s tourist hotspots are more likely to feel the impacts of overtourism, the poll suggests.

In the northern district, which includes the busy tourist towns of St Paul’s Bay and Mellieħa, the number of people who think Malta’s tourist arrivals are too high rises to 59 per cent, with just 39 per cent calling for arrivals to stay as they are.

A similar scenario plays out in Gozo, where 57 per cent of residents are unhappy about Malta’s tourism boom.

On the other hand, the overwhelming majority of people living in the south of the island say Malta’s tourist arrival numbers are what they hoped for.

Over two-thirds (68 per cent) of residents in Malta’s south-eastern towns, such as Marsascala, Marsaxlokk and Birżebbuġa, say this is the case, with just over a quarter (27 per cent) warning of excessive arrivals.

Residents in southern harbour towns, which include Valletta, Floriana and the Cottonera hold a similar view. Only slightly more than a third (37 per cent) of those living in these towns argue that Malta cannot handle its tourist arrivals, with 60 per cent saying the tourist influx is appropriate.

What you make of Malta’s tourist numbers is also shaped by your political affiliation, the poll suggests, with Labourites far more keen to see Malta’s tourism boom persist compared to their Nationalist counterparts.

Malta’s current tourist numbers gained the approval of two out of every three Labour voters (67 per cent), with just 30 per cent arguing they are excessive.

PN voters, on the other hand, take the oppositive view. Most, just under 59 per cent, say Malta is receiving too many tourists, with 35 per cent saying they are happy with the number of tourist arrivals.

However, Nationalists are also twice as likely to argue that Malta’s tourist numbers are “insufficient,” compared to their Labourite peers (6 per cent versus 3 per cent).