Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1479881
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 25 SEPTEMBER 2022 8 INTERVIEW We don't have a 'Planning Authority'; Last Thursday, the MHRA pub- lished a survey projecting that the country would need to at- tract almost 5 million tourists, in the coming years, in order to replicate the occupancy rate of 2019. The same report also warns that: "without action, sig- nificant risks of oversupply exist over the next 5 years"; and – more ominously – that the num- bers we are now looking at, may even place undue strain on the country's infrastructure. So… what sort of 'action' does the MHRA have in mind, exactly? First of all, it is important to clarify this is not an 'MHRA re- port'. It is a report that was com- missioned by MHRA, but carried out by Deloitte. Here, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the European Union – which provided a lot of the funding, through its 'EU Funds For Malta' programme – and also, the Malta Business Bureau, which likewise supported the initiative. Because this report wasn't cheap to pro- duce; it was a six-figure report, so I'd like to publicly thank all the entities involved. But the survey itself was con- ducted by Deloitte: which spoke to all the stake-holders, to get a clear picture of the situation on the ground. It started off from the point of view of 'how many rooms do we have available to- day'; and also 'how many rooms have been applied for, by various entrepreneurs', which have either been already approved; or which are already in the process of be- ing approved. What we've done, then, is take a snapshot of the availability of hotel-accommodation, going forward, if all the approved or pending applications were to come onstream. And it emerges that – always assuming that all the pending applications will be approved; and that the develop- ments themselves will actually be finalized – we will have more or less double the number of rooms, that we had in 2019. Now: in 2019, we had just over 80% occupancy of the rooms that were available at the time. So if we take that 80% as our ob- jective; and we then look at the room-availability that is project- ed for the coming years… the conclusion is that we would need 4.7 million tourists, to achieve the same 80% occupancy. It's a simple mathematical cal- culation, at the end of the day. Perhaps, but the implications are quite 'complicated'. The re- port also identifies numerous pitfalls: including over-develop- ment the overcrowding of sensi- tive sites (eg, The Blue Lagoon); and the impact on utilities such as energy-provision, and sew- age. In brief, it seems as though Malta cannot even cope with to- day's tourism figures… still less, with the 4.7 million we would need to attract in future. So how can we possibly sustain that sort of influx, without also destroy- ing the national tourism product in the process? That was, in fact, the whole objective of conducting a carry- ing-capacity report in the first place: so that we understand, go- ing forward, where the pressure points would actually be, if we were to carry on at the current pace. As an example, I always bring up the Hypogeum at Hal Tarx- ien. When I was young – and that was a long time ago – 'going to the Hypogeum' meant simply showing up at the front door; paying for your ticket; and… that was it, really. You simply went in, without any form of controls whatsoever… and I even remem- ber that there were parts of that site where there were still lots of bones lying around… But then, around 15 or 20 years ago, it was finally realized that unless something was done, there wouldn't be much left of the site at all. We would have lost the Hy- pogeum completely, if measures weren't taken to preserve it; so a lot of work was done – includ- ing the setting of a limit to how many visitors may enter at the same time – and as a result, we are going to have the Hypogeum forever… If I'm understanding correct- ly, you're using the Hypogeum as a metaphor for Malta's en- tire tourism product. Are you suggesting, then, that – unless 'something is done' – there will be nothing left of the tourism sector, either? No, no, what I'm saying is that: the objective of the carrying-ca- pacity exercise was to find out whether the island can actually cater for 4.7 million tourists – in which case, we wouldn't have a problem – or whether there are certain 'pressure points' that need to addressed, from now. And yes: the report did identi- fy a number of pressure points; it even went into considerable detail, regarding what would be needed to address them. Now: as MHRA, what we are saying to government is, 'This is the situation: it is up to you decide what action to take'. Be- cause the decisions that need to be taken, moving forward, are political decisions. These are not decisions that 'we' – as MHRA – 'want to take'. They are deci- sions that 'you' – as government – 'need to take'. On our part, we have done our bit. We have produced this report; now, government can read it – or give it to its people, to be analysed – and if there are any queries, they can be discussed with Deloitte; but then, the government must take the political decisions that it feels to has to take. But we are not going to tell gov- ernment: 'Do this, do that, or do the other'… Nonetheless, you are implying that 'something needs to be done'. So let me put the ques- tion to you directly: do you yourself feel that there is a maximum limit, to the number of tourists that Malta can re- alistically accommodate? Not just because of the limitations of our infrastructure… but also, because of the risk of ruining the entire tourism experience, due to overcrowding? Actually, the report does delve into the possibility that the popu- lation, in Malta, will reach a point where numbers may start neg- atively affecting the attitudes of residents [towards tourists]. This TONY ZAHRA, President of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, warns that a recent carrying-capacity report, commissioned by the MHRA, should serve as a wake-up call: to both government, and the tourism industry alike Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt