ADPD – The Green Party has highlighted the fact that overtourism is “one of the principal problems of current-day Malta.”

“It puts a strain on infrastructure, local services, as well as the quality of life of residents. It is used to justify land speculation and low wages for workers in the tourism industry,” said ADPD.

“In spite of this, the government and the parties in Parliament do not want to grab the bull by its horns and address the problem.” This was the main message delivered by speakers for ADPD – The Green Party Ralph Cassar and Carmel Cacopardo.

They argued that “on the contrary, at times it is more of a boasting competition about the millions of tourists passing through Malta, and the Vision 2050 which aims at hitting the target of 4.5 million tourists a year by 2035. It is enough to know that projections by the NSO already indicate that the 4 million mark will be within reach this year. This is utter madness, and the consequences will not be pretty.”

ADPD – The Green Party Deputy Chairperson Carmel Cacopardo said, “various localities are practically perpetual building construction sites. Two-storey buildings built around 40 to 50 years ago are being demolished to make way for blocks of apartments, and instead of a single residential unit there are now multiple residential units.”

He pointed out that “quite a number of these apartments are being used as short-let rentals in a way that is transforming residential areas into tourist villages.”

“This transformation of these localities is a negative development and is considerably harmful to the infrastructure of the localities as well as the efficiency of local services offered by the local councils dedicated to doing their best to do so,” stated Cacopardo.

He added that “the phenomenon of short-term renting on such a large scale is not compatible with our residential zones. It is essentially a practice that has been imported from mainland Europe, where serious problems are now being encountered.”

The increase in tourist accommodation in residential areas “demands close scrutiny and attention, which is currently non-existent in Malta. Permits for short-term rentals should not be granted without the consent of the local council concerned,” stated ADPD.

It went on to say that this is necessary as it is only the local councils, together with residents from each locality, who have the local knowledge to ensure that this is done with the least inconvenience and harm to the locality concerned. “Why are local councils, which are so necessary to this, are being completely ignored?”

The ADPD-The Green Party Secretary General Ralph Cassar said, “with the spread of fast-paced tourism and with no control in residential areas, the current political and economic approach is to maximise on land speculation to inflate the tourism statistics.”

He stressed that, “tourism is essential for our economy, but it is worth realising that while we already have enough beds for 5 million tourists a year, this industry is not creating jobs for the Maltese within the same industry. This has been confirmed in the report published by the MHRA three years ago, in which it was emphasised that between 2009 and 2019, the number of Maltese working in tourism went down from 82% to 40.6% of the tourism industry labour force, down by just over half within ten years.”

Cassar claimed that “this is the result of an industry that has been allowed to grow unchecked, whilst the authorities entrusted with the regulation of activities in the industry sit idly by.”

The Party then questioned “just how many apartments have been originally built for residential use but are now being used as short-let rentals for tourism purposes without being registered and authorised by the Tourism Authority? This is leading to more abuse in the tourism industry, pushing out residents from residential zones. Short-let rentals for tourism may generate income but it also fuels the abuse.”

ADPD-The Green Party concluded by saying that “there is an urgent need to involve the local councils in the effort to defend and retain the identity of our localities. The government could kickstart this by passing on taxes collected on tourist beds directly to local councils instead of channelling it back into the sector. In addition to this, the government should remove the capping of 5 euro, which is ridiculous, and increase the paltry 50 cent daily tax to one which reflects the impact that tourism has on our localities.”

Photo: ADPD

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