It's like giving a glass of ice water to somebody in hell." Am I slightly exaggerating when I say that this quote reminds me of the effect that the surge in tourism numbers this summer is having on the PN government and the tourism industry?

After years of falling behind growth rates in the world in general and the Mediterranean in particular, all indications are that we will probably have the best summer in tourism since 2000. Hotels are so full that some of them are being very shortsighted, telling tour operators that they do not have any available rooms and then charging very high prices for any rooms that they have left to fill.

For many years the PN government was in denial and refused to admit that tourism was in crisis. The Malta Labour Party and tourism lobbies like the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association had to push the government hard to start addressing the serious structural problems facing our tourism industry.

The PN government still does not have a serious long-term tourism strategy and has reacted to the need to renew our tourism by a series of firefighting measures, haphazard, improvised and taken in a panic rather than following a comprehensive, well-thought plan. At times the PN government has been downright ridiculous, after having no sensible policies for tourism areas like St Paul's Bay and the Grand Harbour, it has come up with half-baked projects to counter the plans that the Labour Party has already presented for St Paul's Bay and is in the process of drawing up for the Grand Harbour.

The PN government took too long to formulate a national tourism plan. Dr Gonzi's government took too long to decide about the introduction of low-cost airlines. Government took too long to make the necessary changes at the Malta Tourism Authority that lost its plot.

The PN government is still in a state of paralysis when it comes to improving and enhancing what the Maltese Islands have to offer to attract the tourists that we need for a vibrant industry. Malta still looks shabby. The Tourism Inter-ministerial Committee headed by the Prime Minister is still totally ineffective in co-ordinating infrastructural works that make the islands look like a dusty building site in the peak summer season when we are supposed to be clean and tidy and welcoming thousands of guests.

Tourist numbers have risen this summer for a number of reasons. Air links between Malta and the rest of Europe have increased by low-cost and traditional carriers making travelling to our islands more affordable and accessible. As a number of hotels have closed down (and others are in the process of closing down), the remaining hotels are enjoying a higher occupancy.

Bad weather in the United Kingdom and on the European continent has helped to send more tourists to Malta and Gozo. The marketing efforts by the MTA are paying off. Many local English language schools are having a very good season, also thanks to the Zapatero government's decision to subsidise thousands of Spanish young people to study English overseas. As the PN government stupidly scared away hundreds of host families, thousands of students have been overflowing into hotels for accommodation.

While welcoming the fact that we are having a good summer let us remember the simple fact that the year has two other seasons and we need a higher flow of tourists throughout the year. Tourists are taking more frequent and shorter trips so we need to increase the number to compensate for shorter stays and fewer nights.

What are the plans and new initiatives of the Gonzi government to ensure that after mid-October our tourism industry remains busy, active and profitable? What steps are we going to take to stop the boom in student tourism turning into a bust in other tourism sectors as misbehaving students packed in hotels with other tourists disrupt and harm our reputation as a destination?

Still a war to win

There are still many outstanding issues that we have to resolve to make our tourism industry profitable and thriving once again. Declaring victory and celebrating it in jubilation as if we have won the war when we have only won the summer battle is both short-sighted and foolish. The present policy of quick fixes at all cost will ultimately prove to be just that: expensive quick fixes that help us live for another day but prevent us from giving a fresh start to our tourism.

After the initial euphoria, serious doubts are already creeping in about the wisdom of engaging the Media Consulta agency to do the islands' marketing and promotion for the next three years for the nice sum of €21 million. Now that we have attracted some low-cost carriers we must look ahead and think long term. Will they still operate to Malta once we run down the subsidies we are giving them (€15 per passenger one-way)? Is this financial support sustainable from our end? What else can we do to ensure that tourists want to come to Malta and they find the way to come at the right price?

Seat availability is not enough. This year we have increased flights to Malta by 14 per cent but before summer tourists had only increased by seven per cent, leaving more aircraft flying with more empty seats. If this situation does not improve and planes fill more seats in all the four seasons of the year we will have airlines cutting down on routes and flights they started this year.

We also need to see the effect that low-cost are having on Air Malta and other legacy carriers still flying to Malta. We must help Air Malta survive and compete commercially in the new aviation environment as our islands need their own airline which is loyal to the country and not just to its bottom line like other airlines that only operate to Malta if and as long it is commercially viable.

We need to see the role of our airport that is no longer in our hands but also has to adjust to the reality of low-cost carriers and the need to give its contribution to extend airlinks between Malta and the rest of the world.

In the past and even today we have given subsidies and market support to tour operators. So subsidies are a permanent feature of our tourism landscape. We must find a long-term and more sustainable way to deal with low-cost carriers and must not see them as a quick fix. At the same time we must find new ways of engaging tour operators and other companies that are interested in getting tourists to Malta and Gozo and must also find ways of supporting them.

We must take all the necessary steps to use the benefits of the new information and communications technology in promoting our islands in an exciting way. While developing the necessary facilities for summer tourism we must work harder at taking care of niche markets like diving, religious tourism and medical tourism. We must become more competitive in conference and incentive travel. We must explore and cultivate new markets.

Serious initiatives need to be taken to attract cruise line companies to use the Grand Harbour as their home port and a port from where tourists travelling from overseas start or end their cruises. The MTA must become an efficient and tourism industry-friendly organisation by focusing on marketing and promotion. We still need to do a lot to regenerate Maltese tourism to regain its competitiveness in both product and price. We also need to encourage the building of new good quality budget hotels to ensure that we have enough tourist accommodation.

For many years the PN government has had a very narrow and short-term outlook on tourism and has improvised along the way, doing too little and too late with other countries, leaving us lagging behind. The PN government has now become too tired and worn out. The Labour Party is ready to govern and has the necessary political will, vision, competence, drive and energy to give tourism a new beginning.

evaristbartolo@hotmail.com