Improving the tourism product

The chairman of the Malta Tourism Authority, Romwald Lungaro Mifsud, in the report Tourism Authority Chief Expresses Optimism (March 23), kept repeating that the downward trend in tourism is worldwide - the market is sluggish for all source markets and destinations, according to international data. In other parts of the interview he confirms that places such as Eastern Europe and the Middle East are offering big competition.

There seems to be some contradiction in these two utterances. If the market is sluggish then how come Eastern Europe and the Middle East are offering such competition? Are they maybe offering a better product?

Mr Lungaro Mifsud says that we should keep on improving our product offer and that the MTA is spending 72 per cent of its money on promotion. This makes me wonder. Why doesn't anyone realise that improving our product does not necessarily mean spending any money? As things stand, I am amazed that any tourists visit at all! Who would want to visit a country that's just like a huge building site? This is what tourists say about Malta and I don't blame them.

All the government needs to do is make sure that the laws are respected and that the Malta Environment and Planning Authority does not allow so many old beautiful buildings to be demolished. We keep talking about the environment as if it's just the countryside and fail to grasp the notion that the environment is everywhere we live, even our streets. A cruise along the streets of Malta reveals nothing more than a very shabby environment with the odd flowery roundabouts and traffic islands that are not enough to make much difference.

As for our five-star hotels, every musician or singer knows what kind of entertainment most hotels are opting for. This is usually a sole keyboardist, sometimes (but not always) pretending to play as nowadays one can download midi files from the internet and play them through the electronic keyboard without needing to lift a finger. Many bands, musicians and singers are finding it more and more difficult to find a place to exhibit their talents and when they are lucky they are usually offered a pittance for their services. Cabaret is nearly non-existent on these islands.

If we want more tourists we need to offer them a tidy and typically Maltese environment, preferably something that's not found in their country. Building more high-rise apartments will not do the trick.