Tourists coming from urban areas are unlikely ever to have encountered a hunter carrying a gun.
This may lead them to conclude that this is an “only in Malta” occurrence when back home many hunters are on the prowl in the countryside and out of city dwellers’ sight, according to a book authored by two hunting federation officials.
The 151-page book released last week by FKNK, the hunting federation, is a response to concerns raised earlier this year by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association on the impact of spring hunting on tourism.
Misinformed tourists may be susceptible to the shock factor of seeing armed hunters even if hunting is just as widespread and popular in their home country, according to authors Lino Farrugia and Joe Perici Calascione.
They argue that tourists, especially those from urban areas, lack awareness of the hunting situation in Malta. Frequent encounters with hunters, they say, are a result of the islands’ small size, the large number of hunters and the little availability of hunting grounds.
“The misinformed tourist should be informed beforehand about Maltese hunting traditions, especially if the tourist intends to roam the Maltese countryside during the hunting open seasons,” the authors say, adding tourist guides should also be better informed.
The book holds that there is no correlation between hunting and tourism arrivals – official figures show tourist arrivals have since 2003 increased year after year.
The only drops were registered in 2006, when tourist arrivals fell by almost four per cent, and 2009, at the height of the global financial crisis, when coincidentally spring hunting was not permitted.
This year’s arrival figures have also been better than last year’s, they say.
Mr Farrugia and Mr Perici Calascione insist hunting will not keep tourists away but lament that the way the pastime is being portrayed by Birdlife, a bird conservation group, and other abolitionists “might impress a few individuals not to visit”.
The book, which the authors acknowledge is not an in-depth study of the situation, contains an extensive literature review of what the authors argue is media bias against hunting. They insist it is the negative publicity pushed by anti-hunting campaigners that is more harmful to tourism.
But they do acknowledge that illegalities by some fellow hunters contribute to the tension on hunting.
“Although the number of these poachers has been drastically curtailed over the years, the sparse illegal actions of the few that remain still cause damage even beyond their own foolish imagination to the local hunting community.”