Do tourists really like Malta?

The tourism industry has been booming for quite a while.

The number of tourists visiting Malta has now surpassed two million per year, roughly 25 years after the one million target was reached for the first time.

Since then, the industry has changed drastically. People started to travel more frequently for shorter stays, and low-cost airlines provided opportunities to travellers who previously could not make it to Malta directly. More and more students chose Malta as their base to learn English – and for a holiday too – while the investment made in Grand Harbour reaped its results as several cruise-liner companies picked Malta as one of their destinations.

All this contributed to the exponential growth of the industry, strengthening it as one of the main pillars of the Maltese economy, and successive governments have all played their part in its gradual progression. And, while it is good to note that the industry keeps employing thousands of workers and bringing in money, there are questions that we should start asking ourselves.

For one thing – is there a saturation point? Will there come a time when we would want fewer tourists?

We all know that with all its good things, the tourism industry does have its negative side effects on the country. Can the infrastructure – including our roads, water and energy, drainage system and so on – continue to sustain the growing influx, also considering that the number of people who reside here permanently is also on the rise? Is Malta’s airport large enough to keep up with the flow, even considering that the number of Maltese who travel abroad by plane each year is on the increase on a yearly basis?

There are arguments in favour of the idea that it would be better for Malta if the number of tourists continues to grow. But there are then counter-arguments which raise doubts on the sustainability of further growth. Would it not be better for Malta to attract a lower number of tourists who spend more? Fewer tourists would mean less of a negative impact on the infrastructure, while the money keeps coming in anyway.

One other question is whether the Malta we are offering to our visitors is up to their expectations. People who are on holiday normally adopt a more relaxed attitude than people who have to go to work or have to run errands, but do we really believe that tourists are happy to be stuck in traffic jams or see building sites and cranes everywhere they look?

Our hotels may be offering excellent services, and other sectors involved in the industry may also be satisfactorily providing value for money – although, it must be said, having too many employees in the tourist industry unable to communicate well in English is becoming an increasing problem. But are the dust, uncleanliness, shabbiness, overcrowding, neverending traffic, crammed beaches, indiscipline and so on giving tourists the relaxing and unforgettable holiday they would be looking forward to?

Statistics show that a sizeable number of tourists end up returning to Malta a second and third time, but are the others leaving with a good taste?