Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1205928
30.01.2020 11 INTERVIEW Malta may run into rough weather' means they serve different markets. Boutique hotels compete mainly with other boutique hotels, not with large or fully-branded hotels. I think they offer different types of products. When it comes to whether there is an over-capacity of such hotels, I think there is over-capacity in everything in Malta at the moment. is is true of the property market too, for instance. A few months ago, I warned that we need- ed to be careful, because the number of beds which are coming onto the mar- ket means that we will require not the 2.5 million tourists which visit Malta, but 5 million tourists to fill all of them. And this connects with the issue of our carrying capacity. If we end up with a situation of over-capacity, this will lead to a price war, where hotels lower their prices in order to fill their beds. How big a concern is Airbnb, and other direct booking services, to the industry? Airbnb is an enormous concern. ere are around 4,000 unlicensed Airbnb units in Malta. ese don't pay VAT and license fees, and by not complying with the law end up having a 40% advantage over those who do obey the rules. Such unlicensed accommodation hurts not only the economy, but also harms com- petitors who do comply. e second difficulty which arises through Airbnb is that we have situ- ations where Airbnb flats are housed within blocks of apartments which are otherwise occupied by ordinary full- time residents. When an apartment is turned into an Airbnb accommodation, it obviously starts seeing heavy traffic of occupants – visitors come for a week or two and leave. Often, such visitors come and go from their apartment at all times of day and night during their stay, and younger tourists sometimes don't think twice about being noisy. is causes a significant inconvenience to the res- idents of the other apartments, and many Maltese people are experiencing this. is situation needs to be regulat- ed. ere shouldn't be Airbnb units in residential areas. Airbnb units should be situated in blocks which are made up only of other Airbnb units, and these should be located in suitable areas of the island. With one of the main suspects in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder having been a director in one of the biggest companies involved in the hotel industry, did the MHRA fear a backlash? Criminals can be found in all sectors. e MHRA will obviously not defend criminals, but it will defend its industry. Just because there was one rotten apple this does not mean that the whole barrel is rotten. In their vast majority, indus- try players operate correctly and abide by the law. e person concerned could have been coming from any industry or area. How can the industry reinvent itself to guarantee a profitable future? e industry needs to think in terms of where it wants to be in 15 years' time, a time period which will pass in a flash. We should be talking about sustaina- bility. I never agreed with our former prime minister (Joseph Muscat) that there should be this massive influx of foreigners into Malta. e impact which the increased number of foreign resi- dents has caused is incredible. Can the island sustain these numbers? My view is no. e keyword is sustainability, so the way forward is to find the most sus- tainable path. Having over 30% of the is- land built up is not sustainable. Neither is having almost 400,000 cars on our roads. Have these things improved our quality of life? We really have to speak about sustainability and quality of life. Where do you see the industry in the next 10 to 20 years? Malta's last tourism plan covered the period up to 2019, and there is no new plan to replace this, so it is not possible to know how the industry will be in the decades to come. is is an enormous shortcoming. How can we direct people on how to invest if we have no idea of what our vision is? A carrying capacity exercise needs to be carried out and a plan needs to be devised as soon as pos- sible. Do you feel positive about the future of the industry and tourism in general in Malta? Yes, I am positive, as long as we can keep things on an even keel and have a vision. Without a vision, we might run into rough weather. I never agreed with our former prime minister (Joseph Muscat) that there should be this massive influx of foreigners into Malta. The impact which the increased number of foreign residents has caused is incredible. Can the island sustain these numbers? My view is no