Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1153841
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 11 AUGUST 2019 NEWS JAMES DEBONO MALTA is entering a new phase in its attitudes towards tourism with an increasing number of people expressing unease at tourist numbers, which have shot up from 1.3 million to 2.6 million over the past decade. An academic study written by economist Lino Briguglio and Marie Avellino, director of the University's Institute for Tourism, Travel and Culture, suggests that "overtourism", defined as a situation where a majority would like tourist numbers to decrease, has "set in". This claim is backed up by the results of an online survey of 400 respondents where a ma- jority think Malta should aim for better quality tourists, and that tourist volumes should de- crease. In response to the statement 'I wish to see more tourists in the town/village where I reside' only 18% of the respondents agreed that they wished to see more tourists in their town or village, while 51% of the re- spondents disagreed. The re- maining 31% were undecided. Unsurprisingly, respondents who live in high-tourist-den- sity localities were less likely to desire more tourists in their communities than the aver- age. This was also the case of respondents aged 60 years or older. Conversely, respondents who work directly in tourism- related jobs were more likely to view increased tourist numbers positively. In response to the statement 'I think that too many tour- ists create social discomfort in the town/village where I reside', 44% agreed, while 39% disagreed. The remaining 17% were undecided. As expected, respondents living in high-tourist-density locations expressed a higher degree of agreement than their counterparts in associating tourism with social discomfort. In response to the statement 'I think that too many tourists degrade the physical environ- ment of the town/village where I reside', 46% agreed, while 38% disagreed. The remaining 16% were undecided. In response to the statement 'I wish to see more hotels built, and restaurants and other shops opened in the town/vil- lage where I reside to cater for tourists' only 16.5% agreed, while 75.5% disagreed and 8% were undecided. Respondents were also asked to state the main advantages and disadvantages of tourism. The major benefits were eco- nomic, including income and employment generation (69%), followed by socio-cultural ben- efits, including intercultural exchanges (23%). The main downside of tour- ism identified by the respond- ents was environmental degra- dation, including generation of waste and excessive construc- tion activity. This was men- tioned by 44% of respondents. This was followed by over- crowding, traffic congestion and noise (33.3%) and loss of cultural identity and socio- cultural clashes, including bad behaviour by tourists (15.1%). Price increases, including rent, partly due to demand by tour- ists was mentioned by 5% of re- spondents. The survey was conducted in early 2019 by means of a ques- tionnaire, administered on line, using the Qualtrics soft- ware. The survey was distrib- uted through Facebook, using a number of popular Facebook Group sites in the Maltese Is- lands. The authors acknowl- edge that a major weakness of this survey was that the sample of respondents was not entirely representative of the Maltese residents in terms of gender, age, educational attainment and occupation. The results derived from the survey should therefore be interpreted with caution. Business and political interests outweigh sustainability The authors conclude that although the sustainability buzzword adorns policy docu- ments approved under differ- ent administrations, in prac- tice sustainability "was often only lip service only, and the success of the industry was generally measured in terms of tourist numbers by the tourism authorities". This means that dependence on mass tourism continued "unabated, and very little, if at all, was done to reverse this trend". Maltese showing signs of unease at overtourism 'Overtourism', a situation where a majority would like tourist numbers to decrease, has set in, Maltese academics suggest The main downside of tourism identif ied by the respondents was environmental degradation, including generation of waste and excessive construction activity