Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1530133
5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 4 DECEMBER 2024 NEWS NICOLE MEILAK nmeilak@mediatoday.com.mt A set of procedures meant to guide school staff receiving a bomb threat has come under fire by the Malta Union of Teachers as it suggests that that school staff should search the premises for suspicious devices. In a statement on Tuesday, the union said this is "unheard of and surely the MUT will not accept that educators go to search for bombs in schools during a bomb scare". The procedure document ad- vises school staff on what to do if they receive a bomb threat. While the police should be no- tified immediately, and all staff are to be informed as soon as possible, the document also says that a search of the entire premises should be conducted. "The search is to be conduct- ed by a search team composed of members of the staff who are familiar with the areas to be searched," the document says. In a footnote, the document also recommends that training and rehearsals are carried out from time to time to ensure an effective and efficient search. This comes after all schools in Malta and Gozo received a bomb threat via email on Mon- day morning, causing panic among parents and educators. The threat turned out to be a hoax, and police are investigat- ing the matter. "The Union has already stated that yesterday's bomb scare in multiple schools exposed the inefficiency of authorities in dealing with such situations," MUT's statement said. "The solution is to address those in- efficiencies and not to expose educators to risks by look- ing for explosive devices in schools." The MUT is directing all Heads of Schools and educa- tors to ignore the communica- tion. 'Surely the MUT will not accept that educators go to search for bombs in schools' DURING the month under review, a to- tal of 329,388 inbound tourists visited Malta for holiday purposes, and 19,118 tourists came for business purposes. The largest share of inbound tourists were aged between 45 and 64 (35.6 per cent), followed by the 25-44 age brack- et (35.5 per cent). British, Italian, and German residents made up 43.5 per cent of total inbound tourists. Total nights spent went up by 7.3 per cent when compared to October 2023, surpassing 2.2 million nights. The larg- est share of guest nights (87.1 per cent) was spent in rented accommodation establishments. The average length of stay of total inbound tourists stood at 6.2 nights. Total tourist expenditure almost reached €356.5 million, an increase of 18.4 per cent over the corresponding month in 2023. The average expendi- ture per night was estimated at €160.8. The number of tourists visiting Gozo and Comino, including both same-day and overnight visitors, totalled 203,950, or 57.4 per cent of total tourists. January-October 2024 Inbound tourists for the first 10 months of 2024 amounted to 3,108,352, an increase of 19.4 per cent over the same period in 2023. Total nights spent by inbound tourists went up by 12.1 per cent, reaching almost 20.0 million nights. Total tourist expenditure was esti- mated at €2.9 billion, 22.3 per cent higher than that recorded for the same period in 2023. Total expenditure per capita increased to €936 from €914 for the corresponding period in 2023. The number of tourists visiting Gozo and Comino, including both same- day and overnight visitors, totalled 1,831,807, or 58.9 per cent of total tourists. Inbound tourists for October 2024 reach 355,561