Why tourists shun Malta
I have read Mark Galea’s letter about his Italian holiday and then comparing it to St Paul’s Bay. It seems to me a case of “the grass is greener on the other side”. I can imagine the furore of possible letters to The Times complaining that one cannot...
I have read Mark Galea’s letter about his Italian holiday and then comparing it to St Paul’s Bay. It seems to me a case of “the grass is greener on the other side”. I can imagine the furore of possible letters to The Times complaining that one cannot park in Qawra because of too many tourists, the place is overrun and locals cannot move!
What you do have are, in my opinion, perfect islands for any type of tourist, without the government having to make major alterations. Malta is a small island whose road network serves it well.
The journey time from Luqa to St Paul’s Bay is not going to improve by much if major road improvements were to be made and at what cost? The bus service is more than adequate and I have not met any drivers or staff with bad manners, as has been reported so often.
Go to any city or resort in the world and visit the “non tourist area” and you will find litter, etc. It’s always there if one looks for it but what I find in Qawra is a wide clean promenade, which I see cleaned daily.
If I do have a complaint it is about Valletta and its pedestrian walkways and now the bus station is to be moved. It is the organised chaos that makes the bus station acceptable to tourists. Valletta seems to be changing for the cruise tourists and to me, regrettably, it is becoming more like any other European city and less Maltese.
To answer Mr Galea’s question: “So why have we so far failed to attract the quality and numbers as they do in other areas?” I think one of the main answers is that the tourist companies who sell Malta to the public rip them off by escalating the prices they charge. Due to the Iceland volcano I had to stay for an extra week and found accommodation at the Coral Hotel for about £350 (for myself and my wife) for the week.
I must mention that the hotel and staff were excellent and could not do enough for us.
I received a tour operator’s brochure last week that showed a similar hotel in Qawra would be charging £799 per week each in April next year! An advance booked Air Malta flight is about £200, plus £350 is only £550 for two people. Over £1,000 more for what? A very good profit for the tour operator and this, in my opinion, is where your problems lie.