Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1506016
MANY CRIMES, DAMN IT!!!' Honestly, though: how does our Prime Minister even get away with saying such outrageous stuff? And how does he manage to just shirk off his own govern- ment's responsibility, for having made our roads manifestly more DANGEROUS that they ever were before... by somehow shift- ing the blame, onto US?! But no matter: because Robert Abela is hardly the only mem- ber of his own Cabinet, to resort to that line as an automatic 'de- fence', every time they are criti- cised. This week, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo became the lat- est example of this pattern in action: when he issued a state- ment, in response to news re- ports about how Comino (and in particular, the Blue Lagoon) had fallen to prey to 'negative tourism ratings'... on account of the sheer amount of garbage (and rats) generated by the 'conveyor-belt' style of mass-tourism, favoured by his own government's tourism policies. Once again, a little background context may be in order. If you'll remember: last summer, NGOs like Moviment Graffiti, Friends of the Earth, FAA, Birdlife Mal- ta, Wirt Ghawdex, and many more, had all complained about the mass-tourism exploitation of Comino (which, by the way, is supposed to be a 'protected, Nat- ura 2000 site'). They reminded Minister Barto- lo that the Natura 2000 Manage- ment Plan for Comino – which was supposed to have been fully implemented, by 2014 – includ- ed specific 'management actions', such as: "To plan and implement a tourism carrying capacity as- sessment of the Blue Lagoon, [...] including at least: seasonal variability of number of tourists, landings of tourists by ferries, entrance fee-options, zoning and wardening." They also drew the minister's attention to the fact that there are supposed to be measures against 'noise and light pollu- tion', in place: but those meas- ures were constantly flouted, by the same handful of privileged tour-operators who have practi- cally hijacked The Blue Lagoon, for themselves (including not just the 'kiosk-and-deckchair' opera- tors... but also the ferry services, that shuttle literally thousands of tourists to that beach, in the course of a single summer.) But – predictably enough – the same NGOs this week com- plained that: "Unfortunately, this plan has never come to fruition, except for a few promises by tour- ism minister Clayton Bartolo. Both in 2021 and 2022, the min- ister promised that a plan would be in effect for the following year. Earlier this year, he mentioned that some changes will be im- plemented for this summer, but again the 'holistic plan' remains altogether inexistent." "[...] This shows that the system – or lack of it – used in Comino is completely insufficient and inadequate, as it only focuses on the economic aspect. This lack of planning is not only harming the environment, with the in- crease in noise, light and general pollution, but also the economic aspect": pointing to negative Tr- ipadvisor reviews on the shabby and run-down 'touristic' areas of the island. Now: given that most of these complaints are now coming di- rectly from the tourists, them- selves... Tourism Minister Clay- ton Bartolo cannot so lightly 'brush off' those accusations. For it's true, you know: he DID promise us the implementation of a holistic management plan, for Comino... both last year; and the year before that. And yet we can all see, with our own eyes - just by visiting the place (ideally, with a peg on our noses) – that all he has really succeeded in delivering, to Comi- no, is: 'more mass-tourism'; 'less enforcement'; and consequently, 'more shabbiness; more neglect; more garbage; more vermin; more filth'... ... and of course, 'more com- plaints from disappointed tour- ists' (many of whom end their tirade, with a resolute promise to 'never visit this dump of an is- land, again!') So, um... what do you all think the Tourism Minister's answer will be, to the question: who's to blame, for all this? To tell you the truth: it's so painfully predictable, I'm almost reluctant to even reproduce it here, at all. But... yup, you guessed it! "The Ministry would also like to draw the attention to the fact that while [The Blue Lagoon] is for everyone to enjoy, bathers, con- tractors and users alike need to respect the environment and look after the beach, as well..." In other words: absolutely EVERYONE's to blame, for the sorry state of Comino – includ- ing you, me, the tourists, the contractors: presumably, even the rats themselves (I mean: can't they even see they're not wanted, there? Why don't they just... um... GO AWAY??)... ... everyone, that is, except the only person, in the entire coun- try, who really IS directly respon- sible for Comino's management: as both a tourism destination, and a Natura 2000 site. You just... ... can't ... make ... this ... shit ... up. maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 AUGUST 2023 OPINION 11 Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo had to react to news reports about how Comino (and in particular, the Blue Lagoon) have fallen to prey to 'negative tourism ratings'