Monique Chambers
I am getting a bit peeved with the negativity surrounding our tourism industry. Over three times the population visit Malta for their holidays each year – surely we can pat the industry on the back instead of constantly slating it? The product is getting better and better. Call me dull but I moved here from choice because I had spent childhood holidays here and as I got older and travelled more, realised that pretty much everything I enjoyed happened here and came more and more regularly. I manoeuvred myself into a position whereby I could move and hey presto, 18 months on, I’m an advocate still. I help tourists wandering round the village looking lost, and I suggest sights, restaurants and clubs to completely random strangers. I am no hero, just a regular, proud of Malta resident.
Yes, bins could be bigger or emptied more frequently in certain areas and yes, customer service need not be so bad in some establishments and shops, but really; some of the people whinging on in the media have not-so-hidden agendas and are riding on way old credentials, and frankly, if their ideas were so stupendously brilliant, surely they would have been implemented and working today?
The thousands of Maltese that travel to the UK for ‘holidays’ may not see an overflowing bin. But this is because the risk of a bomb being placed in one is so high. And in just about every shop or restaurant they, and the majority of the English, have trouble knowing what is being said, let alone if it is rude. And personal safety? Forget it.
And then there’s Tunisia; the desert is quite something but the towns, villages and hotels are more than disappointing, I understand, from very recent visitors.
I could go on but I don’t want to a) never be able to travel again or b) drone on. We citizens have to have a PMA. Positive Mental Attitude. Add this to the efforts of the MTA attracting people here and managing the infrastructure along with other ministries and bodies like the MHRA and the huge industry that is tourism, and get behind them. A field sales force if you will.
We vote for our councils, so if the bins bother you, bring it up with your councillor. We’ve just had an election and can bins really be that hard to sort out? My village, Birgu, has more than its fair share of events and feasts with locals, tourists and even other townspeople coming and cramming the streets for nights on end, and our mayor and the volunteers manage to clear up the evidence before I get up. And on a daily basis? Sparkling.
So, I’m going to choosemalta for my holiday even though I live here. And I’m going to vote John Boxall for President.