Fiona Galea Debono
Tourism ‘must respect’ the environment
This year’s World Tourism Day on September 27 has been linked to the theme of biodiversity, highlighting the importance of the environment in the industry.
“Biodiversity is an intrinsic aspect of the environment and the environment is an intrinsic aspect of tourism,” Tourism and Environment Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco insisted at the launch of the programme of World Tourism Day activities yesterday.
Responsible tourism meant the industry was not about speculation but that it had to respect the environment, Dr de Marco said, stressing that it would be a crucial mistake for the industry to put a strain on the environment.
Dr de Marco said boasting about tourism figures would be puerile and he preferred to focus on the long term and the challenges the industry presented to the island.
This year’s figures could match the 1.3 million tourists of record year 2008 but while stakeholders wanted to increase these numbers further, Dr de Marco said their impact on the environment was rarely questioned.
He wondered whether it was time to make mandatory the eco-labels introduced for hotels and questioned whether development was putting Malta’s unique species at risk. Dr de Marco said it made sense to turn historical buildings in village cores into boutique hotels to entice visitors to these forgotten locations that had much to offer and to regenerate disused properties. If done sensibly and carefully, it could really work, he said, referring to a recent application by foreigners to turn a historical building in Cospicua into a guest house, an initiative that should be encouraged.
Hotels were too concentrated in the tourism zones, he said, pointing out that the idea was to spread the industry’s benefits – not its mistakes – elsewhere.
The World Tourism Day events, which kick off on Sunday until September 28, include about 16 activities, with the involvement of 12 NGOs and other entities. The activities range from country walking tours to exhibitions and documentaries, open days at museums, with reduced admission fees, and snorkelling and bird-watching sessions. Biodiversity has been highlighted this year by both the World Tourism Organisation and the United Nations to raise awareness about its conservation in the world’s fragile eco-systems.
Celebrating World Tourism Day with this theme should arouse reflection on what was wanted from tourism, where it was going, its impact on the environment and the future challenges, Dr de Marco said.
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Astrid Vella
Sep 17th 2010, 21:32
I totally agree with Victor Borg (below) in saying that what Mario de Marco is saying here makes a lot of sense. Tourism should move out of the usual centres into less frequented areas because many of the traditional centres like Sliema and Bugibba have been ruined.
Such a move would also serve to spread the benefits and also contribute to social regeneration, which is why we had pressed so much for the cultural regeneration of lower Valletta through a project that would combine the relocation of Parliament there with a top-star hotel and arts centre at St Elmo.
Can anything be done to give grants to developers of boutique hotels? FAA has been calling for such measures and in fact grants for the restoration of heritage properties have been included in the last two budgets, but never issued.
Mario de Marco was spot on again in "questioning whether development was putting Malta’s unique species at risk" I can't take it any more, hearing good-quality continental tourists say that they will not return to Malta because of the over-development, dirt, and also bad service, after all the MTA's and hoteliers' budgets and efforts to market Malta abroad.
Victor Borg
Sep 17th 2010, 14:33
In my writings - I am a freelance writer about travel/tourism - I have in the past at times criticized Mario De Marco at least indirectly. I have been following closely what Dr De Marco has been saying over the past two years, and I am heartened to see that many times he is saying all the right and sensible things.
His latest idea - to turn historic buildings in town squares into boutique hotels - is an excellent idea. It's just what is needed.
I hope however that Dr De Marco is able to carry along other parts of the government in Malta. Particularly, I hope that MEPA listens and starts taking decisions that create the incentives and disincentives to turn these ideas into reality. In this sense, virtually all applications for hotels that involve building development from scratch need to be thrown out or rejected, while applications that convert old buildings into boutique hotels can be expedited and approved.
Will MEPA rise to the challenge?
www.victorborg.com
Karl Abela
Sep 17th 2010, 11:34
Dr de Marco, responsible tourism should apply to everyone not just hotels only.
A case in point, are the several car hire companies on the Qawra Coast Road who wash their cars on the street early in the morning and discard alot (and I really mean alot) of black soapy water every single day between 8 and 10am. Inevitably, passing cars splash onto pedestrians and the whole area ends up looking nothing short of SLUM.
When can we have some order and discipline in this area? The place looks filthy and we need to crack down on these cowboys.