Lack of law enforcement and a prevailing free-for-all mentality were the more common complaints raised by tourism stakeholders and members of the public yesterday.
The authorities should not allow laws to continue to be flouted and people to conduct their business as they pleased, participants at a public discussion on a new national tourism policy, said.
Restaurateur Peter Darmanin said he was disgusted by the way many of his business rivals in St Julian’s had taken over the promenade with no control over where they placed chairs and tables outside.
“A Sicilian guy having a new restaurant told me I could not walk on the promenade because it formed part of his restaurant. The area between the Hilton and St Julian’s Bay has become worse than Paceville,” he complained.
Grace Borg, a businesswoman who is not involved in tourism, said the Sliema Ferries had almost become a dump where everyone did as one pleased. Even basic facilities for tourists, such as public conveniences, were almost non-existent or else became filthy within an hour from opening,” she said.
A tourist guides representative said enforcement had become an endemic problem.
“How can the MTA be taken seriously when it only has a handful of enforcement officers?” he asked.
How can the MTA be taken seriously when it only has a handful of enforcement officers?
Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis acknowledged that the country had a problem with enforcement but was quick to add that the government was working on a plan to make things work better.
The MTA, he added, was in the process of recruiting more enforcement officers and the government would be introducing tourism police.
A new policy governing the placing of tables and chairs outside was being drawn up to provide clearer guidelines.
Dr Zammit Lewis said that, through the new tourism policy, the government was aiming to move away from basing its success on just numbers and instead focus more on quality, seasonality and developing new markets.
He said that, while the number of tourists visiting Malta would still be important, the government wanted to create new products including more boutique hotels and cultural tourism. It also wanted to better manage tourism numbers so that visitors could be spread over the whole year.