Tourism in Gozo

In May 2002, the Times of Malta was the vehicle for my public writing debut. Driven by white-hot anger that was caused by frustration in my job dealing with holiday accommodation, I had sent one of those disgruntled letters to the editor, which was given prominent space on the opinion page. (You can read it here as it is not available on the Times’ website.)

The phenomenon of rearing cranes, concrete-mixers and all the other paraphernalia of construction works constantly forced me to face hopping mad holidaymakers, who had to be shuffled from one accommodation to another, sometimes even more than once, so as to enable them to eventually enjoy their deserved vacation.

Fast forward to 2006; have things changed? Oh yes, they have! Instead of one crane per three-minute drive, you’ll count three or four now. The actual number of construction sites, albeit without a crane at the moment, is a multiple of that. Motorists find themselves stuck on secondary roads that were never intended to deal with the amount of traffic which the summer season brings, because main roads are closed for re-construction.

Is it really necessary to plan for major works to commence at the start of the holiday season? Although it’s been a long time since I was here as a tourist, I don’t fail to see the island from a visitor’s point of view. And apart from that, I hear travellers commenting and find it hard to believe that those comments are audible for my ears only!

A week ago I came across a letter to the editor of the Malta Independent. Entitled “Dreaming of Gozo”, Alfred Grech paints a painfully idyllic picture of the island, painful because it reminds us of how it used to be. It doesn’t become totally clear whether Mr Grech’s tongue was firmly tucked in his cheek when he wrote,

"I make a point of speaking with tourists and they all find Gozo charming and clean. Yes, it’s clean because the Gozitans are proud of their gem and they treat it as such.

"There are so many beautiful churches and sceneries. A trip to the Citadel is not only good to help you lose weight, it also gives you the satisfaction of a magnificent view. Xlendi and Marsalforn lost some of their old charm because of the buildings that have been erected but when I close my eyes, I can still visualise the Xlendi and Marsalforn I once knew.

…

"Gozo is beautiful from west to east, from north to south and everything in between. The quaint villages and the picturesque little bays put a satisfying smile on everyone’s face. The people of Gozo are as nice as their island and I love their Gozitan accent."

Gozo is not cheap when compared to other European destinations, but after all, we are seeking the “quality tourist”. However, the equation cannot work out if we don’t offer “quality” in return!

In my humble opinion, major building works should simply not be allowed to be carried out during the tourist season anywhere on Gozo. The fact that some entrepreneur blissfully and knowingly ruins someone’s stay by cutting stones right next to a holiday home is proof enough that commonsense is not widely spread in this island – especially in view of the probability that the same entrepreneur will want to rent out his property in years to come!

I am certain that somewhere down the road there’s going to be one construction site too many. And that’s where the bug will stop: no amount of branding exercises and brand managers will prevent bad word-of-mouth advertising by disappointed visitors!