Smoking bad for tourism

Speaking as a regular in Malta for these past 16 years without a break, I read with interest the letter from Connie Dittrich in relation to the possible effect of the smoking ban in bars etc. on tourism.

Due to my inability to cope with smoke I have effectively been banned from all places where smoking has been allowed in the past. At one time it made flying to Malta extremely uncomfortable too.

Now that it is possible to go into a bar or restaurant where smoking is restricted it means that at last the many non smokers such as myself who in the past would have liked to have visited these establishments, whether as tourists or indeed as locals, can now do so. To my mind this means that non-smokers may well spend more on going out than before.

Ms Dittrich asks a whole raft of questions in order to discover at this very early stage, following the troubled inception of the smoking ban, whether all the benefits have yet shown themselves. I rather think that the general good effects on the health of the nation will take some time to become clear! As for the general effects on tourism, if people chose which country to visit solely due to the smoking regulations, they would hardly be making a decision involving all the other more important aspects of their holiday.

She rightly points out that many are moaning about the decline of tourism in Malta. But I think perhaps she is narrowing her perspective somewhat in attempting to link the decline to one thing of which she clearly disapproves - the smoking ban! The letters in The Times over the past few months have covered every aspect of tourism from building works and accommodation to noise pollution and prices, which occur the world over, including the UK, I hasten to add.

By the way, whatever happened to staying at home and having friends round for a drink either indoors or out? Surely the local bar is not the only place to relax and enjoy oneself.