Reliving the wow factor

The tourism industry is a vulnerable and highly volatile activity which depends on two critical factors to succeed and thrive, especially in today's global competition - economic and social stability and a long-term independent policy that is not affected in any way by politics or administrative change.

Malta depends on tourism for a large part of its economy - both in terms of the direct impact, those who work in the hotels, catering outlets and through travel agencies and operators, as well as in terms of the multiplier effect, those suppliers who provide goods and services to the hotels and travel agencies which make up the tourist experience and package. My question therefore is: can this island of just 400,000 inhabitants and a "niche" market of 1.2 million visitors a year really afford to change its political direction?

A number of opinion polls have been published regarding voting intentions at the next general election. There could be various reasons why people feel they can afford to change the country's political direction and try something new. But let us just stop and take a look at the achievements we have seen over these years and then ask ourselves the question again: Can we afford to change political direction right now?

Since 1987 we have moved from a country with a high degree of state control of the economy to one based on a liberalised market and pluralism in such sectors as broadcasting and media. This freedom led to stability, both in terms of the economy, investment and industry as well as to a greater civic awareness about the right to choose and to speak out.

Above all, this stability has been a main reason why the tourism industry has survived throughout these two decades. The reduction in political tensions and worries about the future has meant that we can concentrate on growth, and investors are ready to take up this opportunity once they feel safe and secure. European Union membership has also meant that as a small state with all its vulnerabilities we are now an active part of one of the largest blocs in the world, a very close competitor to the Unites States in the world leadership contest!

But a lot of what goes on behind those Ministry doors, goes unnoticed and we are a people who prefer to look at the negative, rather than the positive side - in other words, we do not count our blessings!

In a small country like Malta, everyone knows everyone else and everybody's business becomes "my business" - that is very commendable in a democratic and transparent society, as we should be - but then we are also running the danger of turning that situation into a "mountain" rather than keeping things in perspective.

I always feel that those who choose politics or public administration do so because they are committed to that career, as with any other, so we need to appreciate the fact that any work that is carried out is done out of a sense of personal as well as vocational achievement.

I think we all appreciate the fact that we enjoy a fairly (not to say extremely) comfortable quality of life here and we can also see this from the tourists who have visited and continue to visit these islands for a number of reasons over the past decade... this is still a substantial market.

From a country with an infrastructure in need of urgent repair we are now looking at enhancing these resources by considering the development of alternative energy projects to add value to our lifestyle; yes, we may still have problems, such as the hunting laws and the planning and development schemes but we have come along way in deciding these issues collectively, through the media and with our various ministers.

The very fact that we do have this option and that we can voice our opinions about anything gives us a great feeling of civic pride; yes, there will be problems, but then we need to treat these as opportunities to learn from, instead of using them to throw mud against our opponents.

I believe that we need to consider our situation very carefully, we may have begun to walk but we can only make progress if we put one step after the other - taking giant strides simply to "try something new" could lead to problems! Before we experiment we must be sure that there are no drastic political beliefs or even the danger of the pre-1987 issues repeating themselves tomorrow.

There are a fair number of persons (as with many other countries) who choose to remain complacent or reactive to any election process - I think the word is "floaters", but now is not the time for floaters; now is the time for calculated decisions that can result in us all staying afloat or of us all sinking.

It would be a pity if that happened, because our sense of hospitality and our culture, heritage and character provide the ideal destination for a unique holiday or experience. Together we can achieve more; this is the very essence of a team!

Mr Zarb is a tourism journalist for E-Turbo News and vice-president of the European Union of Tourism Officers (EUTO)