Last week's contribution focussed on the tourism sector and, more specifically, on the need to have clear long-term objectives for this activity in accordance with Vision 2015, while maintaining attention on the short-term requirements.

In broad terms, we need to be niche driven, we need to move out of our current mindset, which is giving tourism the image of being in the lower middle tier, and we need to understand and exploit the overlaps that exist between the tourism sector and other economic activities in this country. One aspect that fits these three considerations is ecotourism.

On this aspect, I would like to start from a comment made in a speech by the UK High Commissioner during a reception held recently on the occasion of the Queen's birthday. She encouraged those present to consider fair-trade products when making purchasing decisions. Since there is a growing market of persons who seek organic food and who only buy fair-trade fashion products, there must also be an increasing number of persons who demand more environmentally sensitive holidays and sustainable tourism services. It is within this market segment that ecotourism finds its natural appeal.

From what I have observed in the last years, although no one as yet has had the courage to state it explicitly, the Maltese tourism sector is becoming increasingly hard pressed to compete in the mainstream travel market.

This is happening for a number of reasons. Malta cannot take the excessively large numbers that the big global operators generate. Our pricing has become such that it is not appealing to the masses that look for low cost destinations irrespective of quality.

The tour operators have not invested in hotel accommodation and other tourism amenities in this country, which would serve as an incentive to them to channel significant numbers to Malta. This is why we need to look for specific market niches that we can tap and ecotourism is one such niche.

All too often when people refer to ecotourism, one gets visions of whale watching in Alaska, or bear tracking in Finland, or hiking in the Australian outback. That was when ecotourism was an exotic activity for the rich.

Today, it is possible to create a balance between the no frills and luxury tourism. It is an activity that is becoming appealing across all sectors of society, because for some, ecotourism means just enjoying the beauty of the countryside or enjoying the crafts and folklore of a country. It could also mean the opportunity to buy genuinely locally made products rather than imported souvenirs that are sold as local products.

The key common elements in the wide variety of eco holidays available internationally seem to be authenticity, the conservation of the environment and the improved economic well being of the local communities. For Malta this means that as a country we need to shape a product that is truly Maltese in nature and reflects the Maltese culture, while at the same time it needs to be environmentally friendly and can generate a direct benefit (not indirect) to as large a number as possible of Maltese.

For example, it is worth asking ourselves whether hotels and self- catering apartments in the main areas along the eastern coast of Malta should remain the only providers of accommodation services. Should we encourage the creation of a number of accommodation facilities in the villages; similar to the B&B's that one would find in the rural areas of France such as Burgundy? Should we consider limiting the number of fast food outlets that have nothing authentically Maltese about them? Should we consider restoring some areas back to the environment?

Developing and promoting eco-tourism is more than just a slogan. It involves making some tough decisions, the kind which would, however, be beneficial to the common good.

It goes beyond aspects such as agro tourism (which undoubtedly has great potential for Malta) but challenges us to be truly innovative in what we offer the tourist. It means giving the tourist an experience that is totally different to what he or she has been getting so far. Mainstream tourism has commoditised the service offer around the world; ecotourism helps to create distinguishing features between countries and this probably explains why it is highly beneficial to Malta's economy.