A lot has already been said and written about the current economic crises, and how the financial meltdown is and will keep on affecting us and the rest of the world. Indeed the ailing economies in the world are facing great turbulence, reaching unprecedented levels at times. As a result, the domestic economy is facing quite a number of challenges due to these weak and volatile financial markets.

Yet the trend among European leaders is to think about the challenges ahead and explore ways of meeting them. The same is followed by our government. Despite the current economic and financial drama, various sectors of our economy have continued to grow with some very encouraging results. A case in point is tourism. In 2008 Malta had an increase of four per cent in tourist arrivals when compared to the year before; it was an absolute record year. The cruise liner industry continued to flourish with over a million tourists visiting Malta abroad cruise liners.

Last year was a very good year for us Gozitans in terms of Maltese and tourists visiting our island. In fact Gozo Channel operated 19,971 trips last year carrying 3.94 million passengers and 1.06 million cars.

Therefore, no matter how gloomy some pundits have depicted the current economic environment, most people will continue to earn income from their jobs. Most will want to take a vacation, and weddings, honeymoons, and the like. The tourism industry will have a rough ride over the months ahead but those who think and act strategically and have the ability to adapt their business model quickly to the new realities will surely overcome this.

The Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, Mario de Marco is doing a fine job, investing heavily in this crucial sector of our economy. His commitment to address the challenges this industry will be facing in the coming months will be a fine way of mitigating the economic uncertainty.