Tourism authority on summer awareness campaign

Some Maltese seem occasionally to forget that tourists ought to be treated as guests and made to feel welcome, not abused or ignored.

Stephen Zammit and his wife Catherine, Maltese who live in Canada, were in Malta on holiday.

They said that the Maltese were "wonderful" and "friendly" but when it came to services, those they served were often left dissatisfied.

In some cases, they said, the attitude was "if you're not satisfied... tough luck".

In an attempt to put a stop to the condemnable attitude described by the Zammits, the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) has recently launched a summer awareness campaign entitled Ftakar. It-Turist Mistieden Taghna Lkoll (Remember. The Tourist is Our Guest) aimed at reminding the public and those employed in the hospitality industry about the way tourists ought to be treated.

Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said that the campaign was not a response to a specific issue but, from time to time, the ministry embarked on an awareness campaign as it felt that people needed to be reminded that tourists were here to have a good time and expected value for money.

Although the Maltese were usually described as "friendly" by foreigners, the picture was not always a rosy one as several incidents of tourists being robbed or overcharged have been reported.

These thefts, Dr Zammit Dimech said, were of great concern to the MTA though, on an objective level, foreigners themselves have been caught stealing. He condemned the activity which he thought was triggered by the influx of people.

Asked about operators who were overcharging tourists, the minister emphasised that these were breaking the law.

"Each item offered for sale has to have a price tag and this cannot be changed according to a customer's nationality."

Ultimately, the way a tourist was treated depended on the whole country, which should do its utmost to maintain a strong tourism industry, he said.

Eddie Camilleri, owner of Eddie's Café Regina, has been in the business for about 60 years and values the importance of a trained and polite staff.

Mr Camilleri said he was very satisfied with the staff at his café but went on to explain that he had been to other cafés and restaurants where the staff acted as though they were doing the customer a favour.

An English woman residing in Malta, who preferred not to be named, complained about the service in some shops where the members of staff continued their conversation in her presence and only assisted her once they finished what they had to say to each other.

English tourists Simon and April Cunningham had nothing to complain about and described the Maltese and Maltese services as "friendly" and "superb".

Asked about the role of hoteliers and restaurateurs in the maintenance of a healthy tourism industry, Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association president Winston Zahra said he believed that the tourism issue was critically important for every individual and not limited to those in the hotel and restaurant business.

As for the overcharging abuse' he explained that one had to look at the business from a long-term viewpoint and those who were overcharging were damaging the industry through their short sighted vision.