The country has once again witnessed another summer facing the effects of overtourism, said ADPD – The Green Party, and called for sustainable tourism that prioritises residents.
ADPD Deputy Chairperson, Dr Melissa Bagley at a press conference on Sunday, said that “whilst tourism can have some benefits, when not managed properly, this can lead (and has in fact led) to overtourism, which favours the few and leads to great burdens on all the rest.”
She stressed that “this is primarily due to exceeding tourism carrying capacity of the Maltese islands, be it physical, social, or economic, and can bring on environmental, cultural, social and economic problems for the country.”
“We are witnessing the growing dissatisfaction of residents living in the most popular cities and resorts in Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy,” said Bagley. “Residents have borne the brunt of unchecked tourism, such as housing problems because of short-term rentals, environmental degradation, water shortages, traffic, rampant construction, and the overall quality of life.”
Bagley stressed that “Malta is not immune to this. The 2022 Deloitte Report on the carrying capacity study for tourism in Malta shows that by 2019, the volume of tourism levels was already impacting the satisfaction levels of residents and visitors’ alike. This was at a time the number of tourists visiting Malta was around 2.8 million. In 2023, that number was surpassed.”
“With the rapid growth in numbers, the quality of life is expected to decrease. There is already pressure on current infrastructure which was not designed for such numbers. There is the crowding of key tourist hotspots and environmental degradation. Take Comino, a Natura 2000 site, as an example of a site facing environmental degradation because of mismanagement, with no capping, noise pollution, and poor litter management. It would be interesting to see what are the results of the latest MTA survey on residents’ attitudes towards the impact tourism currently has on their lives,” stated Bagley.
ADPD Chairperson Sandra Gauci said that “The reason for the current state of affairs is the ‘growth-focused mindset’, a mindset that focuses on quantities, which shows that if there is any vision, it is only for the short-term.”
She went on to say that “Malta’s Economic Vision 2021 – 2030 – ‘A Future-Proof Malta’ acknowledges that that environmental degradation is no longer an acceptable byproduct of economic success. The current eco-tax, set in 2016, is too low and needs to be revised. Currently it stands at only 1 Euro per bed-night, capped at a paltry 5 Euro.”
Gauci insisted that “proceeds should go to regional councils and local councils. It makes no sense for these funds to go to MTA which in turn uses them to encourage more and more mass tourism. Local councils and regional councils need these funds to mitigate the effects of mass tourism, to boost their cleaning services, to fund enforcement, and other essential local services.
“Moreover, the government needs to reconsider subsidies for mass tourism airlines as they do not make sense at a time when we are pushing for sustainable tourism. These subsidies are tantamount to corporate welfare, pumping millions of tax money into the pockets of the bosses of large airlines,” said Gauci.
ADPD stated that “some tough decisions need to be made and carried through in a disciplined manner. It is not enough to have an impressive-sounding policy on black and white. It’s time for the government to walk the talk. Actions speak louder than words.”
File photo: Gozo News/Alain Salvary