Għarb wins excellence award

Għarb was recently presentedwith the European Destinations of Excellence (EDEN) Award.

The award, co-funded by the European Commission and the Malta Tourism Authority, aims to promote sustainable tourism models in Europe while drawing attention to the values, diversity and common features of European destinations.

The project focuses on emerging destinations that manage tourism in a sustainable way.

The theme for this year’s award was ‘Regeneration of physical sites’, targeting localities which have regenerated a particular site in their locality, converting it into a tourism attraction.

Għarb council was chosen from among 10 localities that took part in the regeneration project. It presented the Wied il-Mielaħ project.

The project, which started in 2006, sought to transform the valley from a neglected area to an ecological and sustainable tourism spot.

The project was divided into two phases. Phase one consisted of restoring the valley to its natural state and involved mainly the reconstruction of rubble walls and major cleaning works, while phase two focused more on giving the area a tourist dimension by installing long-range binoculars, interactive tourist information kiosks, wifi connectivity, installing fixed stairs to enable access to the sea and CCTV cameras.

Other works included resurfacing the valley road, building bridges and dams, landscaping, the creation of a country walk and the production of marketing material.

Previous local winners of the award are Mellieħa, Nadur, Sta Luċija (Gozo) and Senglea.

For more information on Wied il-Mielaħ, visit http://wiedilmielah.gharbnet.com .