 |
|
|
|
opinion
Shoddy Malta, here we come
David
Pace gives credit to the Travel Channel for presenting a real, yet
thankfully somewhat restrained, picture of Malta
About a week ago, I noticed a programme on the Travel Channel that
featured Malta. The presenter, Simon Calder, provided quite a balanced
review of our island, but one quote stuck in my mind: "Forget
all the bad things you've heard about Malta and give it a chance!"
I said to myself: "Do we have that bad a reputation abroad?"
and the answer seemed to be yes, as Simon continued to explain that
after choosing Malta as a destination, tourists must select their
hotel well, for one slip and they could be in for a horrible holiday.
I winced on hearing a foreigner speak this way about my country,
but after watching the entire programme I realised that what Simon
had said was actually fair comment.
Simon visited Ggantija and Hagar Qim and suggested that tourists
shouldn't spend more than half an hour visiting the temples. He
explained that there wasn't an information office in sight and visitors
merely arrive to view a collection of large rocks without knowing
that what they're looking at are the earliest free-standing buildings
on Earth and that they predate Stonehenge by about a thousand years!
Then, he was walking through Valletta and provided some hints on
Maltese prices, explaining that the price of gold objects and meals
were roughly the same as in Great Britain, hinting that there were
many bargains to be had.
On visiting Gozo, he praised the island but commented on the shoddy
boat-houses that adorn the Inland Sea at Dwejra, remarking that
they were never shown on the brochure.
Suddenly, I realised that Simon could have crucified our country
by mentioning the war-torn pavement at the City Gate bus terminus,
the shoddiness and general sloppiness in Valletta, the gruffness
of Maltese drivers and the irregularity of the ‘scheduled'
bus service. And what about the general decrepitude in Bugibba and
Paceville, the pathetic museums, the forsaken monuments, the horrible
roads? I could go on and on and on.
Thankfully Simon went easy on us!
Why come to Malta?
I've been to many places in the Mediterranean: Costa Brava, the
Riviera, Leptis Magna, Sousse and they all offer everything Malta
has but on a larger and better scale. Never-ending beaches, elegant
promenades, luxury hotels, warm sun and sea in summer, beautiful
places to visit in winter and loads of well-kept historical remains.
They also provide good cheap food. A four-star half-board stay in
Tunisia costs less than a three-star half-board stay in Malta while
a week in Costa Brava costs roughly the same as a week in Malta.
So there's a lot of competition going on. The difference is that
street-sweepers and cleaners rise early in Lloret de Mar (Costa
Brava) to ensure that the roads and pavements are squeaky clean
before the town wakes up, while in Maltese tourist spots such as
Bugibba and Paceville, piles of rubbish and debris are the rule
of the day.
It is truly astonishing that a country with 40 or 50 million people
is capable of keeping its roads in good shape and most of its cities
clean, while this seems to be an unattainable goal in Malta.
A concrete desert!
A few years ago, I was touring Greece and was surprised at the country's
extensive forests. It's true that European forests have declined
mostly due to over-development and land use, but there are still
huge stretches of wooded areas providing habitats for many animals
and plants that are tourist attractions unto themselves.
In Malta, tourists are appalled at the lack of trees and greenery.
I used to take offence and answer jokingly that if they wanted to
see trees they should have stayed at home. A stupid answer that
revealed how embarrassed I really was, because I knew they were
right. I remember hearing some government lackey remark that the
Environment Department plants thousands of trees every year. I'll
believe it when I see it!
Now that Spring has arrived, Versailles, Villa Adeste and Hyde Park
will be covered with flowers and immersed in a fragrance that makes
them so attractive to the millions of tourists that visit them.
Malta may be a dry country, but the barren state of many roundabouts,
major parks and gardens continues to diminish our already poor image
with people abroad.
At this time of the year, Malta should be brimming with splashes
of colour to mellow the effect of so many roads and buildings and
soften the concrete contours of rampant urbanisation. We even had
a flower show for the tourists at Mdina. It was quickly curtailed.
It probably cost too much.
A friend of mine told me that many roundabouts and parks were left
barren because local councils offer the tender for the upkeep and
management of these places to the lowest bidder, who will invariably
only buy as many flowers, shrubs and trees as the tender's limited
budget allows him without incurring a loss.
And what about the many fountains and pools left inactive, gathering
mosquito larvae in the stagnant water?
What can be done?
I'm not sure which department or authority is responsible for making
Malta a bit more presentable to the tourist. The Malta Tourism Authority?
The Environmental Department? Local Councils?
The Malta Tourism Authority seems to have a budget. I assume that
it's also Malta's watchdog of the tourist scene. Then, I'm sure
they've watched the Travel Channel's programme on Malta with a degree
of resignation as it certainly didn't flatter our island and it
will probably cost the MTA a fortune in public relations to counteract
its effect and build Malta's image again.
Those adverts the MTA has been showing on TV may attempt to educate
the Maltese to take care of the tourist and are not a bad idea:
we must be made to realise how important tourism is for our country.
But I've always believed that the authorities should set the first
example and start taking care of our country.
A greedy taxi-driver might over-charge a tourist, but it's the general
impression that counts and that's not up to Mr Joe Public alone.
The air of neglect that has been creeping over our country like
a slow-growing cancer is gnawing at our most important industry,
tourism, and the air of complacency everybody seems to have is very
alarming.
It's a complacency that frightens me because it sends a message
that the authorities (including the government) don't care about
Malta and if they don't care about Malta, then who's going to care
about us when we lose our life-blood, the European Union?
|
|
|
