Tourism badly needs a plan

The situation with regard to tourism development in the Maltese islands has received constant criticism over the last few years. Unfortunately, in this sector where stakeholders need to work together one finds constant confrontation between sectors within this same industry. This is certainly not the way to revive the sector. Nonetheless, the sector has certainly reached a stage where one needs to reflect on what has happened and what needs to be done to seriously revive this important industry for the long-term benefit of the Maltese islands.

Firstly, one of the main problems is that there is no clear direction as to where tourism should be going. There cannot be a clear direction unless there is a plan for this sector. This plan does not exist. How can such an important sector move forward without a long-term integrated plan? Unfortunately, tourism is still approached with a development mentality rather than plan and then develop. A plan is necessary to address various factors, namely:

¤ Where do we want the tourism sector to be in the long term (say in 20 years time)?

¤ How will destination Malta be transformed into an experience offering value for money?

¤ Do we still want to depend on big tour operators who, as was indicated recently, can easily threaten to pull out of a destination?

¤ How can all stakeholders be involved in the overall planning and development of tourism (including the local population)?

¤ How will competition be tackled?

¤ How can we ensure that there is an integration of tourism development policies with development policies in other sectors to avoid conflicts?

¤ The above are only a few questions that need to be addressed in any plan for the tourism sector.

The recent results of the survey commissioned by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, as reported by the media, indicate that the situation in the tourism sector is not as good as one would have wished, at least for the hotel sector. Here again we have seen the pointing of fingers at the Malta Tourism Authority and blaming the restructuring, although MHRA and other representatives of the industry sit on the MTA board, so they too are, in a way, responsible for the current situation. Well, certainly one would have expected more from the MTA, however, the blame for the prevailing situation cannot be put only on the MTA. Various factors may have contributed to this situation:

We have not realised that we might have reached saturation stage in our tourist area lifecycle and, therefore, we cannot expect to keep registering the annual rates of increase we had in the past decades. If this is so we need to address the problem in a different way and, no matter how much we spend on marketing and advertising, numbers will not increase as one is hoping. One has to address product quality and the unique experience destination Malta can offer tourists.

The other aspect to consider is what has been done to make destination Malta a unique experience. Certainly not the various hotels that have been built which rarely reflect the local traditional architecture but are mere copies of similar constructions overseas. One should just look at tour operator brochures and compare. Certainly it is not the buildings which are replacing traditional townhouses and which are transforming the character of our villages. The problem is that we have not nurtured our identity. We have simply copied other destinations and therefore we cannot expect that tourists will keep seeking the Maltese islands if that authentic experience is non-existent or, at least, not as strong as it once was. The point here is not how much we have invested in the tourism sector, but whether it was the right and appropriate investment to secure a strong long-term tourism industry.

What has been done with those aspects of our product that make us unique, primarily our heritage? Very little. On the other hand, are we really committed to enhance this aspect of our tourism product or do we only pay it lip service?

Are we really striving to make the Maltese islands a unique destination to attract tourists seeking specific experiences or are we just developing products that make us more liable to competition from much stronger destinations?

Certainly, one can go on and on, but it is wrong to just mention the problems and not provide some solutions. The most important is that the sector needs a clear policy as well as a plan to direct and steer tourism in the future. This plan should bring all stakeholders together, not only the industry but also the population. This plan should ensure that tourism is integrated with other development sectors and vice-versa.

For years we have heard buzzwords like the unique selling proposition, but has this been defined and if it has are we sure that all is being done to enhance this unique selling proposition and are all stakeholders aware of what such unique selling proposition is all about?

Finally, how committed are we to develop this sector along sustainable tourism principles? The World Tourism Organisation is committed to ensure that tourism destinations adopt such principles, but what have we achieved? One can praise actions like the eco-certification of hotels by the MTA, but have we adopted such principles in our policies, if these exist, for the sector?

Tourism badly needs a plan. This will set the direction towards resolving most of the current ills the sector is facing. Without this long-term plan we will still be complaining about the same problems and praying that the next year would bring better results.

Harry Vassallo is not appearing this week.