Church commission calls for national debate on tourism

A call for a national debate on tourism was made yesterday during the launch of the Church Environment Commission's report on sustainable tourism.

The current situation, whereby the decision makers are the ones who benefit from tourism, cannot continue, the commission's deputy chairman Paul Pace told a press conference.

The commission is not convinced that building two new golf courses would lead to an increase in tourists. Commission chairman Victor Asciak expressed his fear that such a decision would be a mistake.

Although the document does not delve into the validity of low-cost airlines for Malta, Prof. Asciak said these should be considered if, among other things, they led to an increase in income from tourism but not in the number of tourists. Another plus for low-cost airlines would be if those decreased the sector's dependence on a number of tourist operators.

Prof. Asciak said that although low-cost airlines were usually associated with low income tourists, this was not the case. In fact, they were mainly used by those who spent their money sensibly and knew how to use the internet to get the best deal.

However, low-cost airlines would be useless unless the whole product offered to tourists was improved. Prof. Asciak cautioned that tourists who are not happy with the product could give the country a bad name.

The commission's report says tourists should be able to enjoy an "authentic" product and experience where they feel welcomed by a community which appreciates its environment and cultural identity.

It says the tourism industry has reached saturation point and the effects on the environment are being felt in such a way that the tourism product has become inferior.

While tourism cannot be blamed for all our environmental problems, any such problem would have a negative impact on the industry.

The tourism industry, the report says, is going through difficult times, adding that this could lead to hasty decisions being taken.

Any development should bring about more stability in the system and an improvement in the common good. While the commission is not saying that the environment should be protected at any cost, it deems "poor" and "dangerous" any arguments in favour of economic development which do not respect social and environmental needs.