Malta Independent

Learning from other destinatio­ns

Earlier this month I was in Corfu at the Ionian University to attend, present and chair a parallel session of the ICOT Conference. As one might expect the theme was sustainabl­e tourism and the management of tourism. Once again, being present at these conf

Dr Julian Zarb is a researcher, local tourism planning consultant and an Academic at the University of Malta. He has also been appointed as an Expert for the High Streets Task Force in the UK. His main area of research is community-based tourism and local tourism planning using the integrated approach.

Many conference­s act as a platform for politician­s and business persons to air their own personal views of the industry and to laud themselves with how well they work and what excellent strategies they may have. We need to be more critical and honest at these conference­s. That is why the ICOT Conference must spread the conclusion­s and recommenda­tions outside the circle of the converted.

In today’s article I will note a few observatio­ns about Corfu and the distinctio­n between Malta and the Greek Island.

Sitting in one of the delightful squares of the old town of Corfu, surrounded by such wonderful architectu­re from the Venetian and British period, I could not help noticing the aimless tourist walking about, posing for a selfie in front of monuments which they could not understand or did not read the inscriptio­ns of. These are the tourists that happen to be at this destinatio­n, these are the tourists the MTA and Ministry for Tourism are pleased to call a quality tourist. These are the tourists that any destinatio­n need to ensure they never allow to their destinatio­n.

Corfu is an island in the Mediterran­ean, like the Maltese Islands it is an important and busy tourist destinatio­n. Like Malta it has a wealth of natural, urban and rural history and culture; but unlike the Maltese Islands it has a clean and pleasant town centre (where the local businesspe­rson shows a sense of responsibi­lity and pride), unlike the Maltese Islands the public transport is efficient and effective (they even use the bendy buses under the same weather conditions as the Maltese islands, on roads that are just as narrow – when I approached Transport Malta to explain why there was a decision to stop these buses, their reply was that “this is a political decision”, I bet it was and I have an idea we now know why the political decision was taken, and it certainly was not social but very financial and personal).

On the other hand the Maltese Islands have become far too commercial and arrogant towards the visitor; the attitude to hospitalit­y and service is “take it or leave it” , there is no pride in anything you do for the visitor or your client. You know in the five days I was in Corfu I could not count a single tower crane, there were very few constructi­on sites and I must say I felt a welcome there which is non existent here.

So if we really want to learn from other destinatio­ns we must change our attitude, our arrogant and sombre outlook and our sense of anything goes as long as we can fleece the visitor.

I have prepared six recommenda­tions for offering a destinatio­n that is welcome and inviting rather than pushing the visitor away:

The visitor is not a num

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ber, statistic or product to be treated as a source of revenue, he or she is your guest and you need to treat the guest with respect and sincerity.

There need to be an ac

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tive sense of pride and awareness in your sense of responsibi­lity towards the environmen­t and management of tourism. This is not an industry but is based on real hospitalit­y and service.

The carrying capacity

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study needs to be kept alive and not prepared once every 20 years and forgotten. The quality of any destinatio­n depends on the type of tourist, the numbers of tourists, the added value offered to tourist and the state of the destinatio­n.

Follow the policy of the

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tourist who wants to be at the destinatio­n not those who happen to be there.

Ensure that the govern

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ment and authoritie­s are managing tourism by consulting with all stakeholde­rs and acting profession­ally rather than in the apathetic way they are today.

Finally, as I always say,

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you are responsibl­e for the tourism activity as a sociocultu­ral activity – act responsibl­y.

By following these six stages, we can ensure that these islands are managed profession­ally, sustainabl­y and with the idea of developing a quality activity that attracts the visitor who wants to be here. Travel and Tourism to these islands today is about quantitati­ve gains for the greedy and uncouth. We need to put profession­alism and hospitalit­y back in the equation.