Gozo must be given its own regional structure to promote and manage its social and economic development. Gozo can only have a full and mature tourism industry when it can organise its own lifeline and not try to survive on the scraps that fall from Malta's tourism sector. Gozo must have its own budget to promote and market itself as a destination in its own right and Gozitans themselves must manage this budget.
Gozitan tourism operators say that their busy season is becoming shorter, with their occupancy rate hovering at a miserable 35%. To be viable they need a 65% occupancy rate. This is making their investment unsustainable and hotels like Andar, L-Imgarr, Duke of Edinburgh and Atlantis have been or are being pulled down to make way for residential apartments.
The Gozitans know that they need to build their own structures to get tourists to Gozo and not depend on what spills over from Malta. That is why they have organised themselves in the Gozo Tourism Association (GTA) and the Gozo Business Chamber. That is why they are thinking of setting up their own Website to promote Gozo.
Gozo is still primarily a venue for day trips by tourists staying in Malta. Whatever Government and the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) say, Gozitan tourism operators feel that Gozo is not being promoted enough as a main and separate destination. Government needs to support Gozo tourism, cut government-induced costs and ease taxes, instead of continuing to create an anti-business climate that makes it impossible for entrepreneurs to create jobs and wealth.
They have tried hard over the years to build the tourism industry in Gozo and six years ago, through the GTA, they came out with a "Review and Framework for Future Development" which identified a 21-point action plan spread over five years (2000-2005) to put tourism in Gozo on a more sustainable and profitable basis. Most of the action plan is still valid and had Government taken it on board and worked hard to implement it together with all the main stakeholders, the present crisis would have been averted.
This is the main strategic goal of the action plan: "Key stakeholders, including the GTA, together with the Ministry for Gozo, the MTA, the Ministry of Tourism, the Gozo Channel ferry company, Malta Air Charter and the local authorities must work closely to establish an integrated approach for the strategic development of tourism in Gozo."
Lack of leadership
It is exactly because Government has failed to show the necessary leadership to achieve this comprehensive and co-ordinated approach that tourism operators in Gozo are feeling so let down and abandoned. Most of their complaints stem from the total lack of synergy that there is among different ministries and public sector organisations that play such a crucial role in tourism.
Take the Mgarr terminal. When it is finally operational, there will be new problems to solve, as the design does not include the necessary spaces for coaches, trucks, route buses and taxis. Gozitan tourism and commercial operators were not consulted adequately to ensure that the new terminal would serve Gozo well for the coming 10 years at least.
Government has failed to create the conditions for a regular air link between Malta and Gozo that is crucial for Gozitan tourism. The last helicopter service it created was both expensive and irregular and was a flop. It did not improve accessibility and affordability for those wanting to come to Gozo. Weekend breakers will only come to Gozo if there is a London-Malta flight early on Friday evening, a year-round Malta-Gozo air link and then a Malta-London flight on Sunday evenings.
Weekend breakers cannot afford to waste time crossing from Malta to Gozo and back as they need to make the most of the 38 hours or so of their weekend to have a good break. They want affordable and speedy air connections. They want a comfortable hotel with spa and massage services. They want good food and good wine at restaurants. They want a quiet and clean island with its unique characteristics. They want friendly islanders.
Gozitan tourism operators are quick to point out that when links with Gozo take Gozo's interest as a priority, the benefits can be felt by the industry. They insist that since Gozo Channel started being run by a Gozitan who forged good links and co-ordination with the island's tourism operation, the service has improved greatly, the night trips have been reintroduced and a scheme to attract the Maltese to Gozo's restaurants and hotels is proving successful.
Tourism is still very seasonal in Gozo and this makes the industry more fragile and vulnerable. Hotels and restaurants lack well-trained staff. Those well trained leave for Malta in winter as they lack a regular job in Gozo and then stay there. The Institute for Tourism Studies in Gozo needs a total revamp to extend its areas of studies, and apart from initial training, provide also in-service training.
Labour's plan for Gozo
The Ministry for Gozo functions like the minister's personal electoral machine but then is totally incompetent to ensure the necessary public services to support tourism in Gozo. Keeping voters happy is more of a priority than cleaning up the island and running it efficiently. No embellishment has taken place in any tourism zone in the last five years. Sandy beaches are being depleted. Heritage sites are neglected. Gozo is looking shabby.
Projects like the construction of new arterial roads and the installation of a decompression chamber are being mismanaged. Budgets are allowed to overrun, timeframes for their completion are farcical.
Heritage attractions, hotels and restaurants are losing business as they are for months inaccessible to tourists because the roads are taking too long to construct. The decompression chamber has been installed but months have now passed and it is still not operating and there is no indication when it will start operating.
Gozo can have a thriving tourism sector, creating jobs and wealth for Gozitans. These are the proposals of the Labour Party for Gozo's tourism industry:
• A Gozo Tourism Authority with its own financial and human resources, with the direct involvement of the GTA, the Gozo Business Chamber and other Gozitan operators in tourism to market Gozo, develop its product, embellishing the island, keeping it clean, improving the road system and maintain properly all the tourism zones in Gozo;
• Enhancing Gozo's product through more facilities and attractions like another yacht marina, a golf course, a better infrastructure for divers and a thorough rehabilitation of the neglected and abandoned valleys;
• Providing an affordable, frequent and year-round sea and air link between Malta and Gozo. Subsidising the helicopter service between the two islands to attract more travellers to Gozo;
• Making available check-in facilities for tourists in Gozo 24 hours prior to their flight back home from Malta to ease the hassle of their trip;
• Creating mooring facilities for passenger cruise liners off Gozo to encourage them to disembark their passengers in Gozo;
• Stimulating internal tourism and incentivising more Maltese to visit Gozo throughout the year, especially in winter;
Gozo has the qualities to attract more and higher spending tourists than at present but the island needs a vigorous and well thought-out action plan to turn around this sector and put some some new life back into it.
This action plan must be formulated by Gozo's operators in tourism together with the Gozo and Tourism Ministries, the MTA, Air Malta, Gozo Channel Company, the helicopter flight operator, the GTA and the Gozo Business Chamber. Much more can be done to attract more tourists to Gozo throughout the year not just to enjoy the island but also for conference and incentive travel, film productions, cruise liner business, English language learning, sports, culture and heritage.
evaristbartolo@hotmail.com