News | Sunday, 13 September 2009

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Nationalist MP Robert Arrigo brands Isle of MTV ‘a waste of money’

Nationalist backbencher Robert Arrigo has slammed the tourism authority’s (MTA) big spend on promotional events such as the Isle of MTV and the powerboat grand prix, arguing that the attractions did little for the island’s tourism.
The tourism entrepreneur, a major player in the industry who was even tipped for the post of tourism minister in the past, said the MTV concert – which featured international sensations Lady Gaga and the Black Eyed Peas – was not worth the MTA’s sponsorship.
“Screening the programme now is leaving Malta shortchanged. If my information is correct, big money has been signed up for these MTV events, and I really doubt what amount of younger tourists it has attracted to the island… Our money should go elsewhere,” Arrigo wrote in a newspaper column.
Arrigo claimed the event did not help attract new tourists because the concert is screened on MTV in September, at the very end of the holiday season when young people are going back to school rather than planning their next year’s holiday.
Arrigo also objected to MTA’s sponsorship of the P1 powerboat grand prix, which costs Malta about €125,000.
The MP said that instead of sponsoring a sport with a select audience, the cash should have been put to better use. “MTA has the obligation to fund tourists coming to Malta, if possible, new tourists coming to Malta, or tour operators increasing their output to Malta.”
Instead, Arrigo said money should be poured into waterpolo: “More people follow waterpolo. It’s a team sport, and has a great following locally and abroad. A look at the recent waterpolo world championships in Rome mirrors the popularity of the game. If MTA looks at sport as a sponsor for visibility, as it rightly did with football, then waterpolo should be chosen, not P1.”

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