I live 1 hour drive from Dublin and Belfast and believe me I only visit the cities on occasions or when relatives from Malta are over. I don’t know any of my mates here who would go their too often neither.

When it comes to tourism, I think it’s a joke. Yes, the public transport employees aren’t the nicest, but there’s a lot more to be said to why the tourist hardly enjoys his/her holiday in Malta.

British/Irish tourists, which are a big chunk of our clientelle, compare Malta to places like Lanzarote, Spain or similar countries, which are within the same price range and offer the same amenities, ie Sun, Sea, History, Nightlife etc

Many are the folks that will tell you they recently visited Malta. Most of the people I talk to, would be in their twenties or thirties, people that working here in the Northern Ireland tourism industry, I know what their entertainment budget would be. (not to mention that my partner was also once, too many times, a tourist in Malta:) ) Unfortunately, most (actually i think ALL) of them complain about the same thing: FREAK ALL TO DO. My first question would be: ‘Have you been to Paceville?’

This question brings a sudden silence. I know for a fact that tour operators (actually representatives) only brush through the name Paceville or other nightlife places. They try to sell their excursions and all their boring church visits to these crowd of nutters on their yearly BOOZING holiday.

Having said that, even MTA, aren’t exactly promoting Malta the way it should be. I watched a few times their advert on British and Irish TV stations (UK Living and RTE). It opens with a young couple running on a beach (which relatively Maltese beaches arn’t exactly beaches, but a spot of over-crowded sand)and sitting at Dwejra, then a few shots of old people visiting churches and museums and the most famous boat sailing through ‘Marsamxett’.

In my opinion if Malta was to be advertised as an alternative to Tenerife or Ibiza it would do a lot better and definitely bring in more cash, not to mention we would have a lot more ‘repeat clients’. Malta is not a Five Star resort, and will never be, as mentioned by David, it is too small, and there’s hardly any space for Five Star units.

So please, let’s promote the island as we should, to the right people, that would eventually spend some cash.

Yes of course they do it, and not that rarely either!
Ask any foreign national what the thing they hate most about Malta is and following the rudeness of people like waiters, receptionists and bus drivers, it’s the size!

It is the hardest thing there is for them to get used too.

Of course I repeat that it’s nobody’s fault but it is a fact!

David Buttigieg : Ok, people have the option of jumping into a car and going somewhere. Do they do it? Yeah maybe once a year when they have a week or two off. Otherwise, people are too busy working, and living to have time to do that. So just like you, they have their one holiday per year. In fact you have it easier than most, you’re what 20 mins away from an international airport?

I can’t say it enough times. You don’t have it as bad as you think you do in Malta. Or to put it bluntly if you’re bored silly of your life in Malta, in a dead end job, boring friends, not much of a social life. If I stick you anywhere else in Europe, you’ll be bored silly, working in a dull, dead end job, dull friends (that is if you manage to make any) and you won’t have much of a social life. the only difference is you’ll be doing it in a different language. Malta is not the problem, it’s probably you! (I’m not directing this at David, just generalising)

…except if you live there, of course.

[Daphne – Your point being what, exactly?]

The closest you can get to a change of scenery (besides the expense of going abroad) is Gozo, which is hardly a change.

My friend lives in Luxembourg, which is hardly a large country, but on weekends he just gets into his car and drives over to France or Germany, sometimes a 6 hour drive but it’s worth it!

Whenever we go abroad we always rent a car and travel around the country with it!

Is it really an English speaking country? I was brought up in the UK, and went back (actually taken back) to Malta when I was 14. I spoke only English, and I went to a private school, so you’d expect me not to learn Maltese, because basically I wouldn’t need it. That wasn’t the case. I had to learn Maltese because that was the language my friends spoke. That was the language quite a few of the teachers spoke. So what hope do those that go to a government school have? English is a second language for the majority of the Maltese.