Animated tour service at Fort Rinella

Tourism Minister Michael Refalo yesterday praised the Malta Tourism Authority which, he said, had successfully managed to minimise the backlash of the September 11 attacks.

Speaking after a visit to Fort Rinella in Kalkara, Dr Refalo said it was thanks to the MTA's excellent marketing and publicity that Malta was still attracting thousands of tourists at a time when, worldwide, tourism was still feeling the pinch.

Dr Refalo said the situation had served as an eye-opener for many Maltese to realise the importance of caring for the tourism product.

He said a number of operators were currently revising their strategies to cope with the lull. Some were revising their exposure, others had cut back on programmes offered.

When asked, Dr Refalo agreed that the introduction of environment wardens or tourism police would be useful to stop abuse, such as littering

"It's not a question of political will from the government. The tourism budget has exploded in recent years, and it is not always financially feasible to engage new personnel," Dr Refalo said.

MTA chairman John Grech urged tourism operators to take their initiatives in order to promote their own product even better.

Yesterday's visit coincided with the launching of the new animated tour service at Fort Rinella which will provide visitors with an interactive service.

The new service, partly sponsored by the MTA, will be in operation on Saturdays, and will consist of a specialised guided tour around the fort - which will take the shape of live interpretation demonstrations by historic animators.

Though they are popular in other countries, the new animated tours at Fort Rinella will be the first to be conducted in Malta, FWA executive director Mario Farrugia said.

Some Lm250,000 has been invested in the refurbishment of Fort Rinella, with works expected to be fully completed in about five years' time.

A state-of-the-art security system was recently installed at Fort Rinella in a determined attempt to thwart vandals.

Dr Refalo thanked Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna for its sterling work in maintaining and upgrading the 19th century fort.