Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1031063
15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 SEPTEMBER 2018 NEWS "I think we are not promoting the character of our town enough," he said. "We are lucky that there is still a very strong sense of community in Sliema, with its four parishes, and we need people to realise Sliema is not simply a holiday destination but a town with a proud history." Claire Bonello, legal counsel for Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar, believes it is evident that a quick look around Sliema and St Julian's would quickly highlight the damaging effect that over-tourism was having on the locali- ties. On any given day, one will come across discarded garbage on many streets, general uncleanliness and a strain on services like public transport and the amenities in the areas, she said. "Many of the foreigners and tour- ists are staying in apartments, AirBnB lodgings and guesthouses and they are the ones that leave the garbage on the roadside at all times, everyday," she said. The tourists, especially, were in Mal- ta to entertain themselves and most could not be bothered to adhere to ba- sic local regulations. "We are changing the character of the area and not just aesthetically," Bonello said. "We are, in essence, los- ing the liveability of our towns." She believes the Planning Authority's decision to allow all pubs and restaurants to extend their seating area onto the pavements and roads was making the issue worse. "Visitors to Malta are now entertain- ing themselves on the streets instead of restricting themselves to inside the venues," she said. "The effect can be seen in the amount of garbage on our roads, as well as the noise that is gen- erated." Bonello said that she, and FAA, had long been demanding a study to de- termine the tourist-carrying capacity for every locality in Malta, especially those hardest hit by the influx of tour- ists and foreigners. Unfortunately, she said, the govern- ment does not want to do anything to tackle the numerous problems, and is content with leaving things as they stand, as long as they generate money. "All they care about is the trickle- down effect on commerce and busi- ness," she said. The Times columnist Michela Spi- teri said that some of the biggest chal- lenges currently facing Malta are most visible in Sliema, St Julian's, St Paul's Bay and Bugibba. What these localities have in common is tourism. So, does that mean that tourists are there- fore the problem? Spiteri believes using tourism as a scapegoat is myopic and mis- guided – and in all likelihood quite unfounded. "Tourists tend either to mimic their surroundings or be attracted to them, like for like," she said. "If litter, noise, lack of enforcement and political will are our Achilles heel, then tourists are likely to copy us or take advantage of us." She said that if bins are overflowing or non-existent, tourists will simply leave their takeaway containers, their bottles and unconsumed food on the nearest pavement. And they will dis- pose of their cigarette butts on streets and beaches. "If we ourselves disregard garbage collection times and show a casual contempt for the law, tourists will sense this," she said. "Some will be put off and will never come again; oth- ers will be happy to join the 'anything goes' party and trash the joint." And then there's construction. Spi- teri said that apart from the environ- mental and planning issues, it bom- bards us with even more litter, noise, dust and inconvenience. Early each morning Sliema and St Julian's wake up to construction and go to bed with a disco at the hotel next door or a rave party at the waterpolo club that's just won the league. "And to keep them company, the drunken student and visitor will be walking back to their hostel and apart- ments knowing they won't be stopped because in a free-for-all resort there's no such thing as enforcement. "So parks are vandalised and no one is held to account. Unfortunately the law here in Malta simply doesn't mean business," Spiteri said. "What I want to see are more CCTV cameras and dust- bins. I want to see more police patrols, and wardens – multi-tasking traffic wardens as well as dedicated 'eco' war- dens – actually on the beat and fining people who flick their cigarette butts on the floor or who take garbage out at the wrong times. I also want to see the promenades swept clean and then power washed." Spiteri said that only when we Mal- tese start respecting our island, will others respect it too. And we could then attract more sophisticated and better behaved tourists in larger num- bers. We are changing the character of the area and not just aesthetically. We are, in essence, losing the liveability of our towns The drunken student and visitor will be walking back to their hostel and apartments knowing they won't be stopped because in a free-for-all resort there's no such thing as enforcement Claire Bonello Environmentalist, lawyer and Sliema resident MIchela Spiteri Columnist and lawyer, Sliema resident PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMES BIANCHI