The 2012-2016 Tourism Policy (also referred to as a plan/programme or PP) has to go through a procedure called a ‘Strategic Environmental Assessment’ (SEA) screening. The outcome of this screening was that “An SEA is not required because the PP is unlikely to have significant environmental effects” and was signed off by Peter Portelli (Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Environment) in 2012.

In the document itself it states in reply to the question “Is the PP likely to have a significant effect on the environment” it says “No”. This is followed by “the policy itself is embedded on a critical trust which relates to the idea that long-term sustainable tourism cannot and should not destroy the assets that compose the tourism offer and which attracts tourists to Malta and Gozo in the first place. It is in our interest to safeguard the natural, marine and human environment and not to allow speculation”.

The building of a hotel and a tourist village at Hondoq would be allowing both the destruction of assets which attract the tourist in the first place, and speculation – and goes directly against the Government’s own Tourism Policy for 2012-2016.

Whichever party wins the election, they should abide by the Tourism Policy established for 2012-2016 – a policy based on ‘critical trust’.