A tourist, walking or driving down Dingli Street in Sliema, will come up to a sign that shows the directions to San Ġiljan and Il-Belt – Valletta.

This type of signage is rampant in Sliema, which, as we all know very well, is one of the most popular towns to host tourists.

Why do the authorities insist on using these signs? The Maltese know where San Ġiljan and Il-Belt – Valletta are located, so why have the signs in Maltese?

The tourist, who is armed with either a map, or a booklet on Malta, will only find St Julian’s and Valletta mentioned as towns, so why complicate the issue and confuse them?

I cannot understand what made the authorities take this decision – perhaps they could enlighten me.

I believe that by using the Maltese language for these road signs, we are gaining nothing, and educating nobody.

On the contrary, it only helps confuse visitors who come to our islands on holiday.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.