Malta’s tourism sector requires concrete support with a focus on particular niches

The Nationalist Party is proposing a renewed emphasis with concrete support for niches including gastronomy and a better use of the Maltese product, agritourism, cultural and religious heritage as well as diving.

PN chief spokesperson Peter Agius and election candidate Darren Carabott explained the proposals put forth by the party for the tourism sector, with an emphasis on tourist niches.

Agius explained how diving schools and agencies that bring in tourists to Malta to enjoy the sea, can be supported by the PN’s proposals for co-marketing.

A Nationalist government would ensure that campaigns are developed and aimed at a particular activity and a particular market. This co-marketing would lead to an aid of up to €25,000 of marketing expenditure, Agius said.

“The government needs to take a more active role in protecting the main resource of this niche – namely the quality of the sea and marine biodiversity,” Agius said.

He said that this requires moving from species to habitat protection. Real enforcement and monitoring are also needed.

Agius also noted the need for more diving sites, saying that they are vital to this sector. It was promised that the shipwrecked Hepheastus at Qala point would be sunk as a diving attraction. This needs to be done immediately as it means boosting the whole sector.

Meanwhile, PN candidate Carabott explained that the boosting of the tourism sector triggers a ‘trickle-down effect’ that benefits workers and small businesses in Malta and Gozo.

He added that the influx of tourists to Malta is vital both for its direct effects on the turnover of hotels and restaurants, as well as for its indirect effects on sectors that provide services to touristic operators.

“The Nationalist Party is the party which gives this sector peace of mind. It is a sector which has seen extraordinary progress under Nationalist governments,” Carabott said.