The concept of sustainable tourism has been on the cards for years, with every single red flag being ignored. Now, the president of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, is trying a new tack. He is not warning about traffic, pollution, waste or overcrowding at tourism sites; he is talking about money.
He wants those who have invested or who plan to invest in tourism to understand that rampant growth might affect them where it hurts most: their pocket. The argument he made in a was consistent with what he has been saying for some time but he honed in on the need for someone, somewhere to realise that the foolhardy few are poisoning the well others have been drinking out of for many years. The issue is not the mythical three million annual arrivals threshold reached, nor the €3 billion in annual revenue that tourists spend.
It is where to go from this point on. He was clear: the country has probably been “too successful” at attracting low-spending concertgoers and cruise liner visitors. He had already said some time ago that one of the problems was the and that 4.
7 million arrivals would be needed to fill them. And, yet, his warning has gone unheeded: the Planning Authority approved a staggering 99 applications for hotels and extensions, which would add 27,000 rooms to the current stock. Let us put that figure into context: in March 2024, there were 20,218 bedrooms.
.. What we are talking about is not merely increasing but more than doubling the current, already wo.