The last thing the tourism industry needed was for it to become yet another political football kicked about by the government and the opposition. The sector requires a far different kind of attention if it is to build upon its performance during 2010 which, while not as splendid as is being made out to be, is threatened by the austerity measures in place in main supply countries other than Germany.

The political gaming was brought about by the socio-political turbulence in Tunisia and Egypt, which had immediate dire economic consequences for the two countries, in particular in their tourism effort. Tourists flocked out of those countries and bookings are reported to have fallen drastically.

The leader of the opposition articulated the obvious in this context –that Malta should exploit this situation to seek to attract tourists, who might otherwise have gone to Tunisia and Egypt, to its shores.

If truth be told, that idea had flashed through the minds of those connected with Malta’s tourism drive. Had it not, they would not be worth their salt and have no right to stay in this highly competitive business.

The opposition leader may have gone over the top with language that might be considered to be less than politically correct. But, if there is anything besides that to criticise in his message it is that the upheaval in the two countries will probably not have long-term consequences on their economy.

This means that any gains to Malta out of some redirection of the tourist flow would probably not be sustainable. Otherwise, it is a well established fact that unrest in one country diverts their potential tourist inflow to other competing countries.

Nobody in their right senses would wish the seismic shock that swept across Tunisia and Egypt to continue. What does continue without fail is the template inclination of our political class to pick on every possible item brought up by the other side to turn it into a political conflict.

Tourism does not gain anything from such a conflict. What the sector requires is determined focus to make our tourist product better, whatever the circumstances in neighbouring countries, and to do away with or at least reduce the constraints imposed upon the industry through public bureaucracy, mistaken policies, and inadequate progress in the infrastructure, particularly where it continues to groan and creak.

As luck would have it, the onslaught by the government on the opposition leader for his strong words about exploiting a situation which, political posturing and hypocrisy aside, was going to be exploited anyhow, coincided with the conclusion of talks between the government and the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association on the hike from five to seven per cent in the VAT rate on various tourism-linked activities.

For starters, it is remarkable that an ill-timed measure announced months ago well after tourism operators had concluded contracts for the year ahead, led to tortuous agreement six weeks after the VAT increase had to come into effect. Beyond that, the accord reached is riddled with holes and far from the liking of the MHRA.

The most evident holes are how the roughly one per cent rebate is to be definitely calculated when one takes into account confirmed contracts and subsequent bookings, mostly through the internet. The process will be wrapped in costly bureaucracy and cannot be guaranteed to be just. It would have been far better had the government agreed on halving its VAT rise on all bookings, however made, during 2011.

The Finance Ministry does not want to lose revenue. Yet, what it will safeguard will be mostly eaten up through the cost of enforcing the unsatisfactory agreement dumped on the MHRA. The feelings of the association were clear enough in its words communicating the agreement to its members.

Effectively, it remains dissatisfied and worried by the government’s final decision, even though this was improved through the pressure exerted by the association. The concluding remarks made by the MHRA to its members make this clear enough.

The last figures published by Deloitte up to Quarter three said the association showed a sharp drop in profitability, despite the positive tourist arrivals. In fact, it went on, although arrivals in 2010 reached a record high, the number of occupied nights for hotels was still below the 2008 figures, and so was the per capita revenue for hotels, whilst operating costs have since skyrocketed.

“The MHRA remains very concerned about declining profitability as a result of the hefty increases in its operating costs and increasing pressure on prices. Eurostat figures show that, even before the recession, profitability for hotels and restaurants in Malta was the lowest among competing destinations,” concluded the association’s statement.

The political powers that be would employ their time better digesting the MHRA’s observations, warnings and exhortations than engaging in political football in search of some ephemeral gain.