It is unusual to have storms in Malta in the summer, but this year seems to be an exception.  In fact, we seem to be having The Perfect Storm, and quite a long one at that.  This storm, however, is not a natural one sprung upon us by the warming planet but is a completely human-made one.

I am referring to the conjunction of a number of issues which had been simmering under the surface for some time, but have now boiled over simultaneously, challenging the way we do business and questioning the sustainability of policies which, until recently, were lauded as the pillars of our economic success.

The latest storm is about tourism, or rather more correctly, over-tourism.  Columnist Frans Camilleri had written about this in The Journal earlier this year.  This week, it came to a head with several news reports which reveal fundamental problems that are besetting the cash cow of the Maltese economy.

Pressures on Gozo

One story concerned international tourism in Gozo, where we learned that, in 2023, Gozo and Comino received 1.72 million international visitors who spent 1.07 million nights on the island   ̶   an increase of 19.7% over 2022.  Their average length of stay was 6.7 nights.   

This means that last year the population of Gozo increased by a daily 4,710 persons, but in reality, since most tourists visit in summer, the likelihood is that it increased by at least 6,000 daily.   Add around 1,500 Maltese tourists per day, and the sister island was hosting 7,500 additional persons daily on top of its resident population of 39,290.

The strain this puts on the infrastructure must be considerable, affecting transport, electricity and water consumption, drainage and other services (including health), the quantity of goods that must be delivered from Malta, and the number of guest workers required to service them.  As we are seeing, the infrastructure is not coping. 

Another problem is, of course, the accommodation required to cope with the number of visitors who make Gozo their home. Gozo has some 9,710 beds available all year, but only 2,210 (or 23%) of them are in hotels.  The rest are self-catering accommodation, mostly properties advertised on digital rental platforms such as AirBnb or booking.com.

This surely explains why there is a construction boom in Gozo.  Many Gozitans and Maltese are investing in flats to service the demand.  This gives them a better return on their savings than bank deposits, enables them to shelter their income and wealth from the Inland Revenue Department, is often complemented by non-payment of licence fees and the tourist tax, and also has an asset value for the future.

It is certainly a lucrative business for the individuals and operators concerned, but how much value is it adding in the process?  We know that real per capita revenue from tourism has declined by 21.5% over the past decade, and part of the blame is definitely the huge growth in low-cost airline capacity and the explosion in rental accommodation. No wonder that the formal accommodation sector in Gozo is struggling. 

A drop in revenue

That brings me to the second piece of news, which was that more than half of tourism operators in Gozo saw a drop in their revenue for the first six months of this year when compared to 2023.  According to the Gozo Tourism Association, 53% of businesses that participated in a survey suffered drops, despite tourist arrivals increasing by 21% during the first five months of the year. 

An alarming 85% of respondents believe that the general touristic offer in Gozo is not meeting guests’ expectations due to various factors, including excessive construction, lack of tranquillity, poor infrastructure, noise disturbances, and cleanliness issues.  There you are: how can quality tourism prosper in such an environment?

A staggering 88% of respondents   ̶   ranging from the accommodation sector through restaurants, diving centres, tourist attractions, transport, tour operators, travel agencies, property rentals to tourism consultancy firms    ̶   said that they were impacted by recent electricity outages and a further 44% also noted damage to their equipment and stock as well as a a loss of business. 

“Excessive” development

The third piece of news was the claim that Malta can no longer cope with “excessive” development of hotels.  This was made by Mr Tony Zahra, the head of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA), during a tourism conference.  He described the situation as “crazy”, in response to a comment that hotels needed more workers to cope with growing demand.

“The whole of Malta is going up in flames because our power distribution system is not working,” Zahra said, referring to hours-long power cuts across Malta and Gozo in recent weeks.  “We cannot go on building more hotels and more rooms.”

The MHRA had already urged the government to stop encouraging the development of new hotel rooms and review rented accommodation and catering licensing protocols.  The association warned that the rapid growth has led to overcrowded destinations and anti-social behaviour.

Of course, none of those who are now criticising the government as “crazy” admit that they were the ones who up to a new months ago were lauding the government for expanding the economy and making them rich.  But then, short memory is a well-known trait of humankind.

In 2022, the MHRA had commissioned a carrying capacity study which concluded that Malta would need 4.7 million tourists to sustain its current occupancy availability.  The implication was that there was too much accommodation available and that this was not sustainable. Mr Zahra claimed that the authorities had put the study in the bin.  

Capitulating to the numbers game

There is absolutely no doubt that the study has been quietly buried since there is no intention to move away from the mass tourism model.  If any confirmation is required, one only needs to mention plans by Malta International Airport to spend €250 million over the next six years on the airport’s infrastructure and services, including a 1,550-square-metre extension of the terminal.

The country badly needs a shift in the tourist profile.  We seem to be attracting ever-increasing numbers of young people who travel on a limited budget, rather than on families and elderly tourists who could contribute the most to the economy.  The Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) has capitulated to the numbers game, boasting of increasing arrivals and expenditure whereas, in reality, we are witnessing a deterioration in the quality of tourism.  Suffice to mention that real expenditure per capita in 2023 was 11.3% lower than two years previously.

This explains why Prof. Lino Briguglio claimed on The Malta Independent that Malta has exceeded its carrying capacity in terms of tourism arrivals.  Malta is in sixth place globally in terms of tourism per capita of the host population and per square kilometre of the host country.  The evidence lies in higher traffic, overcrowding in hot tourist spots, strains on the infrastructure, and higher pollution.

This does not take into account cruise tourism.  Yet, the tourism authorities have boasted that this year we should exceed a million cruise passengers   ̶   that’s a whopping 25% increase.  To a certain extent, we must thank our lucky stars that most of them are here just for the day.

The anti-tourism wave

With other European cities facing a wave of “anti-tourism” movements after increased tourism and gentrification, can we expect the same sentiment to reach Malta?  Definitely.  It might not be tomorrow or the day after tomorrow but expect more people, especially the NGOs, to join the “anti-tourism” movement happening in Spain, The Netherlands, Japan, and other places.

Barcelona locals are referring with distaste to their home city as ‘Carcelona’, deriving from the Spanish word for prison, due to the 32 million tourists entering, littering, and hiking the cost of living. Over in Tenerife, locals are struggling with a drought emergency while still having to cater to their 5.6 million yearly tourists, whereas those in Málaga are resisting tourism through graffiti, stickers, and posters all with strong Anti-Tourist attitudes.

Recently, Japan introduced “no-tourist” streets to avoid the harassment of local geisha and blocked off an infamous view of Mount Fuji to avoid visitors congregating in a residential area and disturbing the peace. As of November 2023, Amsterdam voted to close off its ports to cruise liners and continue to campaign against notoriously rowdy British tourists from exhibiting anti-social behaviour.

Here in Malta, we have already seen certain NGOs, such as Moviment Graffitti, protest against the taking over of beaches in Comino by businessmen. Currently, they are working alongside Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) and various resident organisations on an ongoing campaign, ‘Il-Bankini taċ-Ċittadini’, which is pushing back against businesses taking over public spaces. Many will remember last year’s ‘Xebbajtuna’ protest that took over Valletta in an attempt to express frustration at those involved in Malta’s environmental and social degradation.

What can be done?

What can we do?  Some ideas being floated include incentivising incoming tourists to respect the host-country and community, introducing a tax aimed at limiting tourist visitation in sensitive areas, imposing a cap on inbound tourist numbers, a moratorium on the construction of new hotels.  And limiting short-let property rentals to designated ‘tourist-zones’.

Of course, I don’t expect the government to do anything of the sort.  As usual, it will let things drift until an explosion occurs, at which point heads will be scratched, blame will be allotted, and some heads might roll, and a hastily-arranged plan with shaky foundations will be rolled out.

Main photo: Screen grab from Facebook