Tourist guides union's case

The Malta Union of Tourist Guides is the official body for tourist guides on Malta and would like to take an official stand on the issue of the teacher who was fined Lm500 for allegedly "doing his job".

John Bencini of the Malta Union of Teachers and the public have expressed shock and, to an extent, outrage at the situation, which has in fact not been made totally clear. Mr Boffa, the teacher in question, was in fact stated to have been teaching; however he himself admitted that the students he was taking around were foreign.

The MUTG and the MTA Enforcement Directorate have no objection at all to a teacher taking his Maltese class to Valletta for an educational outing. The regulations for tourist guides came into force in May, 2002 and schools were at the time still organising outings for their students. None of these was ever reported or stopped. The enforcement directorate never apprehended or fined any of these groups.

The Malta Union of Tourist Guides in fact would like to reassure schoolteachers (employed within the local school system, be it a public, private, church or even an international school), Scouts groups and people who are from the MUSEUM organising educational outings for their students that we are not in any way against this form of cultural education.

This, however, does not include foreign students who are on holiday here, as is the case in this incident. English language students are a vital part of the tourism industry of Malta and no less important than cultural groups, conference and incentive visitors or tourists who are simply seeking a quiet retreat in the sun, but they are tourists all the same.

A trip to a beach where a barbecue is organised for these students is not considered an excursion, but a trip to Valletta, any historical site or fortified city, a church or museum is.

The situation seems unfair, but Mr Bencini and the rest of the world out there are forgetting that this sort of activity by persons not licensed to act as tourist guides is taking the livelihood from the tourist guide. After all these teachers are receiving a salary (even during the summer holidays) and the tourist guide who could have conducted this organised excursion remained at home with no compensation whatsoever.