Moviment Graffitti has welcomed Minister for Tourism Ian Borg’s expressed intentions to “curb the commercial activities on Comino and the Blue Lagoon,” as noted in the media on Sunday.

“Over the past years we have demanded limits to the activities of tourist boats which offload hundreds of tourists at a time onto the island nature reserve several times a day. Left unchecked, this has led to the degradation of the Blue Lagoon, and of Comino in general,” said Graffitti.

The organisation said that it hoped that the proposed measures will “primarily target these tourist activities and not result in a cap which prioritises large tourist operators over services used by residents of the Maltese Islands to enjoy Comino.”

Graffitti also welcomed the news that that Minister Borg is planning to better organise the kiosks operating on Comino. “We have long insisted that the number of kiosks allowed to operate is unsustainable and should be reduced.”

“We add with urgency that kiosks should not be allowed to spill over to other parts of the island; unfortunately, we are already seeing the presence of kiosks in Santa Maria Bay, to the detriment of the government’s own habitat restoration attempts in the bay and wetland. We look forward to being invited for the consultation meeting on this matter,” stated the organisation.

Graffitti reiterated previous calls to have Comino’s carrying capacity study published. “This study, commissioned by ERA years ago, has been kept under wraps. The public has a right to access this information and assess the authorities’ actions, or lack thereof, to preserve and restore Comino as a Natura 2000 site.”

The organisation stressed that it had not forgotten the “looming threat to Comino’s integrity with Hili’s proposed hotel and villas for the bays of San Niklaw and Santa Marija, which activities are certainly not in line with Comino’s protection status or with our right to peaceful enjoyment of public land.”

“We congratulate all those who have stood with us to pressure authorities into addressing the causes of degradation of our shared cultural and natural heritage,” it said.

Graffitti concluded by saying that, “we hope Ian Borg’s words are followed up with tangible actions for the common good and do not become another unrealised promise as with the planning appeals reform.”

File photo: Gozo News/Alain Salvary

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