Hoteliers sounds warning of ‘over-tourism’

Hoteliers are calling for a study to establish the maximum number of tourists that Malta can cope with due to its limited geographical size and high population density. The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association made its call during the presentation of the performance survey for the first three months of the year. According to this survey, arrivals rose by 18.8% over 2017, but profit in five-star hotels was down by 30.6%. The latter drop was attributed to the one-off events held in the first half of last year when Malta held the rotating EU Council Presidency. In his address, MHRA president Tony Zahra said the time was ripe to start focusing on sustainability and “responsible tourism” rather than numbers.  “Those responsible for planning tourism must be careful to ensure that tourists or locals do not destroy what tourists have come to see. One must, therefore, take all necessary precautions to avoid killing the goose that lays the golden egg.” In this respect, the association presented an eight-point plan. This comprises a carrying capacity assessment in view of the fact that the last time such an exercise was carried out was in 2001. Another proposal was to strengthen public...