Striking the right balance

On Friday it was my pleasure to deliver the opening address at the Europa Nostra Cultural Heritage Forum with the theme, "Cultural Tourism - its Encouragement and Control". The event was inaugurated by Prince Henrik, the Prince Consort of Denmark and president of Europa Nostra.

The last time that the Prince was in Malta was over 30 years ago. He visited Malta in October 1975 in his capacity as Honorary Commissioner of the Danish Red Cross. At the time he was already impressed by Malta's remarkable history and culture. In my opening address, I said I hoped that it will not take His Royal Highness so long to revisit Malta. I added that similarly I hoped it would not take such a long time for Europa Nostra to be back in Malta. In this case it has taken this prestigious cultural heritage organisation 35 years to be back.

Europa Nostra is one of the most important and prestigious cultural heritage organisations in Europe - a world class, international organisation whose contribution is invaluable and outstanding. Through its over 200 affiliated organisations, we recognise it as the leading voice of European culture, heritage, history and identity. At the highest levels of the European institutions it promotes benchmark qualities in the field of the built cultural heritage and the protection of Europe's great national landscapes.

In the last 43 years, it has played a pivotal role in safeguarding Europe's cultural heritage. It has done this in several ways: in acting as one of the foremost advocacy organisations at the European policymaking level, in rewarding good architectural and conservation practices through its cultural heritage awards schemes - while in Malta it has given this prestigious award to Architecture Project for the wonderful job carried out at the Valletta Waterfront, and in fostering the cultural and educational dimensions of Europe's accelerating process of integration and international solidarity. Malta is proud to be part of this process at this exciting time in Europe's history.

As I had occasion to express in clear terms in my opening address, we take pride in Din l-Art Helwa close involvement with Europa Nostra over almost 40 years - first through Judge Maurice Caruana Curran's involvement on the Europa Nostra Council, and now through Martin Scicluna's.

Mr Scicluna has been appropriately described by Prince Henrik as Malta's Commander-in-Chief who knows full well that the devil is in the detail, and throughout all the proceedings Mr Scicluna did not leave any detail, however minute, to chance. Echoing the motto of Europa Nostra itself, he led by example and his dedication and commitment served to motivate many others to offer their time, energy and talent to the worthwhile cause.

Din l-Art Helwa deserves credit as being itself Malta's oldest and foremost cultural heritage organisation, having been established soon after Europa Nostra was created. I cherish the lovely memories of my own membership in the teenagers' section of Din l-Art Óelwa (that's nearly 40 years ago!), and I vividly recall how this organisation sought from its very foundation to act as our conscience as well as flag bearer for Malta's cultural heritage and natural landscape in the same way that Europa Nostra performs this role on the European stage.

The theme chosen by Europa Nostra for discussion in Malta could not have been more appropriate. Cultural tourism plays a significant - not to say crucial - role in the life-blood of our economy and our tourism product. Being responsible for both tourism and culture certainly keeps me conscious of the synergy that must exist between these two aspects.

Although last year we managed to retain our market share and register a modest growth in tourism - no mean achievement considering the stiff world wide competition that we face - I am convinced that we must achieve more growth, and to do that, we have to also ensure that cultural tourism is encouraged and enhanced - indeed that it takes centre stage.

The strongest attribute of cultural tourism is not only that Malta has some outstanding history and heritage sites to offer which are virtually within walking distance (or at least a short car drive) of each other, but also that we can make it available for enjoyment all the year round. Malta is not, and must never aspire to become, a seasonal resort.

Our emphasis is on more culture-oriented tourism and other niche markets, such as sports, underwater diving, language learning, leisure, and conference and incentive travel. The sun and sea - and the warm Mediterranean welcome - are of course an extra bonus, desirable add-ons.

Dr Mario Tabone, as chairman of Heritage Malta - Government's own agency responsible for Malta's major heritage sites - was one of the speakers at the forum. His case study on Malta displayed what we have to offer, and also brought out, fairly and objectively, some of the potential pitfalls of cultural tourism which we must seek to avoid.

Ultimately, as pointed out by Prince Henrik, cultural tourism is - like most things in life - all about striking the right balance. The consequences of not doing so will be to undermine the very goals of our tourism product which we are seeking to achieve. It would be a case of killing the goose that lays the golden egg.

Striking the right balance requires us to be vigilant about conserving our heritage, while encouraging its growth and its huge potential for employment and economic benefit. It is about discouraging greed and short term gain without weighing with the utmost care and concern the long-term consequences. Above all, it is about reminding ourselves constantly that the cultural heritage we enjoy today is only by us in trust for future generations.

I was told recently that if all the people employed by the travel and tourism industry all over the world had to live in just one country, that country would rank in population just behind Japan. Its gross national product would be second only to that of the United States. It would also be one of the world's fastest growing countries, along with China and India.

Such a country does not exist! Still, these figures serve to illustrate the importance of the tourism and travel industries to national economies - and to Europe.

The challenge before us is to use the great power of this industry as both an economic and a social force for good. It is a force that helps bring about greater understanding and respect across national boundaries. It is there to contribute to sustainable economic development, while simultaneously restoring and maintaining the health of our built cultural heritage and cultural landscapes.

Even if we have not managed to avoid the pitfalls represented by over development, Malta represents an overall positive case study about striking the right balance between seeing to cultural heritage as a clear value in its own right and equally using it as an economic tool through which tourism can grow further without destroying our identity and authenticity.

In Prince Henrik's words, "Malta's strategic position, its closeness to the major civilisations, its inevitable contact with maritime routes due to its central Mediterranean position, its involvement - often unwittingly - in the regional conflicts, has given it a depth of history and a cultural heritage disproportionate to its size. Rare are the countries which thus could have come into contact with so many peoples, travellers or foreign invaders. Rare are those who played such a role in foreign policy, strategic decisions, influencing the destinies of other nations. The visitors of today are fortunately more amateurs of aestheticism than the former invaders and they are also friendly tourists enjoying the sun, sea, hospitality and the unmatched historical and cultural riches of the archipelago of Malta."

I believe that the outstanding credentials attributed to our country by Prince Henrik are not only welcome but also make it that much more incumbent on each and every one of us to appreciate that for us, striking the right balance is not merely an option, but a pleasurable duty that we need to carry out bravely and intelligently.

In the meantime, I am honoured by the fact that the Europa Nostra congress meeting held here last week adopted the Malta Declaration on Cultural Tourism that itself emphasises the need to strike the right balance and should serve as an important tool in future deliberations on this subject.

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