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rather than a direct cause-and-effect relationship. More data and analysis are required to confirm the underly- ing causes of the long-term trends in bathing water quality as identified in the present report. Nonetheless the various trends indicated in the pres- ent report, provide important infor- mation to be made available to policy makers and planning in Malta. For example, recent data, including media reports, suggest that the Bal- luta bathing site (not included separately in this study but included in the Sliema gen- eral area) has be- come notoriously known as the area with the poorest bathing water qual- ity. The original paper (which included data produced from the forecasting estimation of the increasing trend in 95 percentile E. coli for each beach) of which this present report is an abridged version, suggests that if the present trends as identified above will continue, St George's Bay and St Paul's Bay may reach the current state of water quality of Balluta, with- in a year for the former, and within three years for the latter. Such data as presented here, raise immediate concerns as regards the impact of influx of foreign residents on the in- frastructure of the island, as well as on the planning aspects of coastal development in certain areas like St George's Bay and St Paul's Bay. This is particularly relevant to St George's Bay which is a small beach lined by dense res- idential and tourist developments. Evidently the spread of any further developments in this area should be stopped. Otherwise, bathing water quality, which is an important attrac- tive asset for incoming tourists, will be expected to be significantly de- graded. These results have also important implications for achieving sustainable national development including that of tourism and the possible future economic model to be adopted in the coming years. This economic model should take into account the carry- ing capacity of Malta in terms of the size of the annual resident population and the tourist equivalent as resulting from the nights spent by such tour- ists. This requires strict controls over the influx of foreign residents and of tourists with any strategies adopted in each case giving priority to quality rather than quantity. This is an abridged version of a paper delivered at the 7th Euro-Mediterrane- an Conference for Environmental Inte- gration, held in Reggio Calabria. THE multiple videos making the rounds on social media of unruly young tourists engaging in all sorts of uncivil behaviour must have hit a nerve somewhere in govern- ment. In a reactive strike, over the weekend, the police car- ried out a targeted enforcement operation in St Ju- lian's, Paceville, Swieqi, Pembroke and San Ġwann. The operation, we were told in a police press release, was primarily aimed at enforcing the law that bans su- permarkets and retail outlets from selling alcohol af- ter 9pm. Five outlets are expected to be charged for breaching the law. But the police inspections were also intended to clamp down on public disturbance, illegal parking, dangerous driving, loud music, waste disposal and il- legal substances. The press statement gave no infor- mation as to whether the police issued any charges related to these offences. The police action was welcomed by the tourism in- dustry lobby group, MHRA, which called on the au- thorities to provide the police with "stronger legisla- tive and operational support". But a one-off exercise will do very little to placate growing discontent among residents over uncivil be- haviour, particularly by young tourists. It will have to be a sustained enforcement effort over the summer months. And in the MHRA's words, this will be need to be supported by "clear public guidelines and visible signage in high-traffic areas to establish behavioural expectations". In this way, tourists would know what is expected of them. The targeted police action was a positive devel- opment but its tardiness shows the authorities were caught napping. Unruliness, is not something that suddenly landed on Malta's shores this summer. In- deed, in October last year the prime minister was making the case that tourism must not compromise residents' quality of life. The government should have anticipated the prob- lems and before the summer prepared a coordinated approach to tackle law and order in tourist hot spots and their immediate neighbourhoods. At the start of the summer season, the home affairs minister should have sat down with other colleagues in Cabinet and addressed a press conference to high- light the coordinated action that will be taking place, including targeted police patrols and enforcement, improved waste management and cleaning of public areas. None of this happened and after a series of com- plaints by residents and local councils of unbecom- ing behaviour by young tourists, mostly holidaying in short-let apartments in residential areas, the police fi- nally decided to act. It was evidently a knee-jerk reac- tion as Malta got lampooned on social media with vid- eos of youngsters urinating in public, having sex in full public view, shouting and causing mayhem in the mid- dle of residential streets, partying loudly on balconies, hanging half naked from rooftop balustrades, spraying powder from fire extinguishers onto passers-by, and trying to climb onto street sculptures. And knee-jerk reactions tend to communicate the wrong message, especially when the problem was known and could have been anticipated—at least if the government stopped to listen to local councils nega- tively impacted by cheap tourism. It is this inability to be proactive that undermines other useful initiatives like the roping in of Italian po- lice officers to help patrol tourist areas. The Home Af- fairs Ministry and the police only confirmed the pres- ence of eight Italian police officers on the ground in Malta when a media outlet learnt of the initiative. And while there is nothing wrong with such police exchanges because they foster cooperation and cama- raderie across jurisdictions—Maltese police officers have done similar jobs abroad—they simply send the wrong message when the authorities are not upfront about such plans. To make matters worse, the news emerged in the middle of a crisis, giving the impression that the gov- ernment was trying to regain control of a situation by relying on foreign assistance. The outcome is a PR disaster for the government and does little to placate public discontent. Tourist raids and Italian police: A PR disaster maltatoday MaltaToday, MediaToday Co. Ltd, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN EXECUTIVE EDITOR: KURT SANSONE EDITOR: PAUL COCKS Tel: (356) 21 382741-3, 21 382745-6 Website: www.maltatoday.com.mt E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt and the impact quality 11 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 23 JULY 2025 EDITORIAL