Another dispatch from the Starvation Front
On timesofmalta.com, this morning:
NON-EU TRIPS BY MALTESE RESIDENTS ‘MORE THAN DOUBLE’
A total of 24,451 Maltese went abroad last March, six per cent more than in the same month last year.
The National Statistics Office said that total nights spent abroad during the first quarter were estimated at 410,834.
The number of outbound tourist trips towards EU countries in March was calculated at 21,481. Another 2,970 trips headed towards non-EU destinations. EU trips declined marginally, but non-EU trips more than doubled.
Italy and the UK remained the most popular tourism destinations and shared 61 per cent of the total tourism market.
In the first quarter, an estimated 87 per cent of Maltese travelling abroad chose to visit EU destinations – trips to Italy advanced by 22 per cent, while those to the UK declined by four per cent.
EU outbound trips remained almost at par with last year’s level, reaching 54,851, whereas the number of trips to non-EU destinations increased by 19 per cent to 8,397.
Just over half the total outbound trips were for holiday purposes, and 26 per cent for business and professional reasons.
Non-package travel was significantly higher than package travel, with an estimated 80 per cent of total travel.
Travelling Mlatese during the first quarter spent €57.7 million, equivalent to €141 per person per night. Package expenditure per night stood at €95.2, while non-package trips cost an average €57 a night.
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€141 per person per night? Socialists mentality = flus misruqa mill-pajjiz.
Ma! Kif qatilnha bil-guh dan Gonzi.
Paris darbtejn biss morna din is-sena, u last year three times.
Quite a large mittle class I see
The MLP wants us to believe that poverty is on the rise, yet in the narrow streets of Malta there are 320,000 cars registered and a population of 415,000.
Everybody is travelling somewhere and texting messages all day long. Even grandmas are having fun chatting on their mobiles and laptops.
Maltese people have cash earned with hard hard and as soon as million euro bonds are issued by an entity, they are swallowed in minutes.
Let’s face it. The PN bungle things up but their achievements is indisputably and Labour knows it. They have no clue how to top them.
Well, what do you know? People have to beg for alms abroad. Too much poverty here.
By the way, I love this new phrase “Starvation Front”. Fact is I’ve been thinking about this for some time.
The PL is bemoaning the fact that we are all starving to death.
However when I try to find an appointment at a beauty salon, hairdresser, interior designer and other absolutely non-essential services, I am always invariably told to postpone by a week.
I consider some services to be extremely elastic (or rather the demand for them) and yet, it was difficult to secure an appointment. There can be two reasons. People go because they afford them or they go but they are living beyond their means.
But surely not everybody is living beyond their means.
I would also challenge JM to try to book a good restaurant a party of 5 midweek. Not easy. Now, I objectively wonder: but can it be true that poverty is so widespread? In view of the glaring facts , I conclude that it is not.
I hasten to add I’ve done a lot of voluntary work in socially depressed areas and I’ve seen inCospicua a family of fivei
living in one multi-function room.
However, in many cases, the people involved do not want to improve their lot.I’ve also seen the result of addiction but the state does help whoever wants to kick the habit.
I worry for those peopleliterally eak out a living and who have to scrounge every cent to see the end of the month. Those are really at the risk of real poverty. That is where we should address.
Certainly by crying “wolf”on the issue of poverty, the PL is certainly not helping the real poor. As usual, totally useless.
Daphne
I think you should report this one too to be fair.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120515/local/malta-at-low-end-of-eu-healthcare-survey.419907
[Daphne – I’d be interested to see where the UK’s and Italy’s healthcare systems place, Paul, to say nothing of the healthcare systems in the former communist bloc countries. The only three points on which they are definitely correct are the secrecy with patient files, the high levels of MRSA and the high incidence of Ceasarean sections.]
I don’t think that survey is detailed enough. I think Malta has one of the best health care systems in Europe. Waiting time for some complex medical tests are a bit too long though.
I was surprised by the survey in fact.
Actually patient’s files are not secret – they cannot be handled by the patient (we know what would happen otherwise – basically taken at home for “safe keeping”) but patients can ask for a complete and full copy of their files. Thus nothing is secret.
Have you read in last week’s English newspapers that they are protesting as people are being left in hospital corridors as there is a shortage of beds?
Did you hear of the case, this time in Malta, where a 90 year old woman was taken to hospital by her daughter, complaining of severe chest pain. They just wanted her to stay in hospital because they had to attend a wedding.
When young I happened to be in Rome and I got to know that there was in hospital a Maltese T.V.newscaster, who was there because he was run over by a motorcycle.
When I visted him he was literally eating pasta with his hands, because they are meant to bring their own cutlery.
Of course things can be improved. Just double the taxes we have to pay and as we say in Maltese, everything will be fuq ir-rubini.