A Gozitan who believes in quality

Victor J Borg, hotelier and Gozitan talks of his dreams for his properties and Gozo

"It would be a great pity for Gozo, if the number of visitors continues to increase in the peak season. It's already a shock for visitors who travel to Gozo in mid-August hoping to find a quiet Mediterranean island."

Victor J Borg is one of Gozo’ best known hoteliers with an interest in quality tourism. The proud owner of Ta’ Cenc and the extensive land around it, he dreams of installing a heritage park over 153 hectares of this land together with an 18 hole golf course.

He is in his late fifties, a chain smoker and charming, he insists;.

"I am not a speculator, I am a hotelier."

Indeed, he also owns the Cornucopia and St Patrick’s Hotels, as well as a thriving car hire agency. In all he employs 250 people.

He talks with pride of having launched the idea of ‘special weekend breaks’ for Maltese visitors. It's not a moneyspinner but is of immense value in upgrading the Gozo tourism product.

"It makes it possible to keep staff employed all year instead of only in the summer."

Victor Borg aimed at ending dependence on part-time and seasonal labour in order to attain a higher level of professionalism, to make tourism a career choice.

"It is very important that the services, and the amenities, which a visitor can expect to find in Gozo, in the peak season, are even more available during the low season. This is when we need the business. This was my thinking when I applied for a casino and a golf course.

"I am also very interested in the heritage park since this will create ample possibilities for horse riding, walking and bicycle holidays.

"Unless, the visitor is kept busy, Gozo will remain an April to October destination."

In 1992 with his business partner, Saviour Cremona, Victor Borg purchased St Patrick’s Hotel in Xlendi.

On the footprint of the old eight-room hotel, a new 65-room hotel was built. Architect Martin Xuereb's design says small is beautiful, just what Xlendi could take.

Yet, Victor Borg was all eyes set on his dream, the five star Ta’ Cenc Hotel. Victor Borg bought Ta’ Cenc in 1997 from the Italian Federici family after a long stressful adventure. The Ta’ Cenc location is unique amongst all hotels in Malta and Gozo.

The Ta’ Cenc staff are able to provide five star courtesy enhanced with the warmth and humour of the Gozitan touch. The cuisine is Mediterranean and enticing, its quality guaranteed by Italian chefs and an enthusiastic Gozitan team.

The corbelled huts modelled on the girna punctuate the skyline. The limestone cones each made up of 450 limestone slabs are now one with the landscape. The sensitive treatment is maintained in ongoing works at Ta' Cenc.

Careful restoration work, a new leisure centre and unique rural surroundings make Ta’ Cenc special but the natural setting sets it apart from any competition in the Maltese islands. The Blue Rock Thrush that flits over the gardens. The babylike screams of hundreds of Cory Shearwaters announce nightfall. These pelagic visitors breed on the Ta’ Cenc grounds some 150 metres away from the hotel. It is this natural potential that draws Victor Borg to pursue his dream of restoring 153 hectares, turning it into a heritage park.

He also has a plan for an 18-hole golf course in a neglected corner of farmland off Wied Sabbara. A controversial proposal, but one that he is sure will not leave a scar on the environment.

The studies he commissioned for justifying a heritage park have changed Victor Borg’s outlook. The reports have cost him close to a quarter of a million liri. When he talks of the park, he talks of investing in a project that holds a value-added return in terms of fostering cultural tourism in Gozo. The area is the size of Valletta and Sliema.

In summer the plateau is arid and desolate but after the first rains the garigue is a green, red, blue and yellow collage. "This is my land and I want to preserve it. I removed 300 trappers from the area, it wasn't easy." There was little need to emphasise that last point. He says that he will not shelve the heritage-park plan if he is not granted a permit for the golf course.

The Ta’ Cenc private beach Kantra Bay offers an idyllic away-from-it-all setting for savouring the red mullet and prawns grilled on the spot in a small Greek like hut "It's a magnet for those wanting a break from the hassles of the main island". Victor says confidently. He knows it's the secret of Gozo's long term success, and his.

Victor J Borg was talking to Saviour Balzan