The tourism product

How I love lateral thinking and how I dislike the word "can't". I have always been a very positive person and now, more than ever before, positive thinking is the way forward.

Our tourism product needs a structured upgrading, embellishment, maintenance and protection. That is a fact.

When this situation is mentioned, the answer always comes back that the funds needed to undertake such major surgery do not exist. Remember this point as you read on.

In our islands at present we are building, or planning to build, many thousands of luxury properties. These could total to around 10,000 properties. The chances are that these properties will have to be sold to foreigners as there are far too many to sell to Maltese. If these are sold to foreigners, then Malta would have amazing benefits. If 10,000 properties are sold to 10,000 foreign couples this would be equivalent to 520,000 tourists living permanently in Malta and Gozo. (One permanent resident is equivalent to 26 tourists spending two weeks in Malta.). This is equivalent to almost half of the tourists that come to our islands annually.

All the money brought into Malta by these permanent tourists will be spent here in Malta, and spent all over Malta and Gozo, wherever these people live, so that a huge number of Maltese will benefit.

Now let us talk figures.

A total of 10,000 foreigners will spend on average €450,000 each to purchase a property; some a bit less and some a bit more. So 10,000 permanent tourist couples will bring into Malta about €4,500,000,000. Yes sir, four and a half billion euros. Stamp duty on that sum comes to €225,000,000. Remember this figure.

Each permanent tourist couple will have to bring into Malta each year a sum of €23,294 to qualify for residency; many will bring in a lot more. Let us put the average at, say, €30,000 per year.

So 10,000 resident couples will bring into Malta each year the sum of €300,000,000. On which they would have to pay 15 per cent tax. That means that the government would get an annual tax income of €45,000,000. Again, remember this figure.

So the government would get a one-off sum of €225,000,000. And an annual tax sum of €45,000,000. This has to be an ongoing win-win situation.

If that sum were put aside in a special account, I feel it should be more than enough to upgrade and regenerate and maintain our tourism product and make Malta a dream place to live in and to come and visit and also, incidentally, a much more desirable place for us Maltese.

Are these figures pie in the sky?

Well, the properties I mentioned at the beginning of this article are facts. They are being built as we speak. If foreigners do not purchase the majority of them, then who will?

They have to be marketed and sold and marketed professionally. Also, with the figures above mentioned, I think that it would be in the interest of the government to look at the situation very seriously and assist in the marketing and sales as much as it can, especially by easing the process and conditions of purchase and the streamlining of the application processes to get residential permits to settle in our islands.

Now, will so many foreigners come and buy in our islands?

Well, I sincerely hope so or else we have a problem because so many properties are being built. But let me tell you why I think that they will and why foreigners can be persuaded to settle here.

Are our prices of luxury properties too high? No, I do not think so. They cannot afford to get any higher and it would be better if they were slightly less expensive but that is up to the developers to reassess their business plans.

Our up-market property prices are not cheap but, then, there are no reasons why they should be.

There are always exceptions to any rule but put yourself in the position of an average foreigner wishing to purchase a holiday home or a permanent residence in a foreign country. Assume that this foreigner has accepted the fact that s/he can live on a small island. What do you look for?

You would look for security. Climate. Proximity to all services. Good agents to re-sell, let, manage, and maintain your property. You would need good medical and health care at you immediate disposal. You would need good and efficient lawyers and notaries. You would need close-to-home furniture shops, soft furnishings, decorators.

You would need good transport and communications. You would need to be close to good food shops and a good selection of restaurants.

You would need to be in a place that has many activities and clubs to keep you occupied. In other words, you need to have the necessities, conveniences and luxuries of life at your disposal.

We have all these in Malta and Gozo.

Any property, anywhere in the world, is priced higher when the location is pleasant and convenient. For example, prices in the centre of Taormina in Sicily are very much higher than those 20 miles outside in the country. No, our property prices are not too high because we have a good product and a good environment in which to live in.

So, we have the properties being built, all we have to do now is to work together to get them sold and when I say we, I mean everybody who will benefit. That definitely includes the authorities.

Now is the time when low taxation, reasonable cost of living and a healthy property market should be priorities in people's minds.

We want good tourists; this is a way to get them. We want the money to improve our tourism product; this is a way to get it. The wheels are already turning.

The only thing that can stop us is ourselves.