As the Maltese flock to Gozo this weekend, they will be confronted by evidence that Malta’s flawed economic model is also moving to the sister island.
They will see for themselves how the government seems to have its economic strategy locked on autopilot, focusing exclusively on growth with little or no concern for the impacts of that growth and its sustainability. “Success” is still defined as continuous expansion in, for instance, the number of properties being built and sold and the volume of tourists stepping foot on the islands.
The delusion of economic success measured in exponential growth is beginning to worry not just ordinary citizens, who fret about the often unmeasured impact of overdevelopment, but also economic operators.
This is the case in Gozo. An online survey by the Gozo Tourism Authority has revealed the concerns of tourism business owners over the way overdevelopment is affecting the image of that island in the eyes of visitors.
Ninety-one per cent of survey respondents believe that overdevelopment is ruining the island’s charm and will deter foreign and local tourists from visiting Gozo. Many also say the island needs a general clean-up and maintenance of public places, playing fields, public gardens and green areas.
These weaknesses should have been evident for at least a decade to the policymakers at the Malta Tourism Authority and its sister organisation in Gozo.
Gozo appears to be rushing to adopt the overdevelopment and overtourism model that has ruined Malta’s chances of ever becoming a quality destination. Like some other Mediterranean destinations, including Dubrovnik and Santorini, Gozo has the unique potential of becoming a niche destination for more discerning tourists who are prepared to spend more money in a locality that offers an enhanced experience to visitors.It was recently confirmed that tourists visiting Malta spend on average €107 per day.
An American tourist visiting one of the more prominent European cities spends €400 a day. Both Malta and Gozo are catering for the lower end of the tourism market in the Mediterranean. The added value left in the Maltese economy from tourism needs to be quantified clinically after considering the often hidden infrastructure costs, most of which are financed by local taxpayers.
After a decade of almost uncontrolled growth, local tourism and the property development that goes with it have crossed a threshold: too much tourism is now demonstrably creating more problems than benefits.
The MTA strategy to boost tourism numbers, its lack of effective action to impose high-quality standards that enhance visitors’ experience and a laissez-faire attitude to the accelerating property development are fallacious.
While many tourist destinations are starting to curb overtourism, local policymakers still promote more of the same.
The growth of tourism in Malta and Gozo was not so much the result of competent management by the MTA, which is in dire need of rediscovering its mission. It resulted rather from new accommodation models such as Airbnb, which has flooded the market with thousands of relatively cheap rentals often with little focus on quality, and from low-cost travel that has been a contributor to exponential growth in tourism across the whole Mediterranean.
It is never too late to acknowledge past mistakes and the frequently irreparable harm that is done by overdevelopment. Gozo may still have a slight chance of excelling as a niche tourism destination.
Operators and policymakers, however, must define a more realistic strategy that banishes the focus on growth at all costs and frees the island from the dominance of developers who seem intent on purging every last Gozitan village of their unique character.