Tourism in Gozo: huge potential

At this time of the year, Gozitans brace themselves for a mass influx of Maltese crossing over for the feast of Santa Marija. While religious festivities may not be top of the agenda for the majority of those going to Gozo next week, Gozitan establishments will be hoping that business will pick up.

Unfortunately, Gozo is somewhat forgotten for the rest of the year except by those who love to spend a few days in winter enjoying the unspoilt countryside and far away from the noise and hassles of daily life. According to a study commissioned by the Gozo Tourist Association, the Gozitan economy earns around Lm30m annually from tourism. Not bad, considering the size of the economy. However, Malta's sister island is still underperforming and has certainly not reached its full potential.

Terry Stevens, of Stevens and Associates, who carried out the study, said that the main challenge was to increase the spending of day-trippers. He added that the Gozitan economy should be earning around Lm57m - nearly 50 per cent more than it is at present. These are very interesting figures, yet it is obvious that there is still so much that could be done to improve the tourism industry in Gozo.

The study found that in 1999, an estimated 460,000 tourist nights were spent in Gozo, of which 55 per cent were spent in hotels and guest houses - in all 51 per cent of the total bedstock in Gozo. In real terms, there has been strong growth in the number of beds per night sold over the past two years, and the domestic markets have shown particularly strong growth. Yet, this is not enough.

Dr Stevens said that while demand was on the increase, occupancy levels were on the lowside. The average annual occupancy remains at 34 per cent (Malta: 44 per cent), and is highly seasonal. In fact, the study found that visitors spent an average of 3.4 nights. This reflects the island's position as a great place for short breaks.

Another worrying fact is that of all international tourists visiting Malta, only five per cent spent more than 24 hours.

There are two points to be made.

First, despite all efforts to promote Gozo, the message does not seem to be getting through. Probably, we are giving the wrong message. There is a tendency to promote the island as the ideal hideout for those seeking peace and quiet. But Gozo has so much more to offer. It should be promoted as it is - a destination in its own right - with its own cultural heritage, culture and identity. Up to a few years ago, Malta was still being promoted as the island of sun, sand, sea. These characteristics were very important until tourists started finding relatively cheaper destinations offering, at times, even better services. The Malta Tourism Authority and the Ministry of Tourism have realised this no longer works. There is more to do and see in Malta than just basking in the sun. Malta is also a cultural destination.

This strategy is working... and if it works for Malta, there is no harm applying the same strategy for Gozo - without, as Tourism Minister Michael Refalo said, "effectively divorcing Gozo from Malta".

Secondly, why are international visitors not spending more time in Gozo? Why are they not offered a split-package - four days in Malta, three days in Gozo, for example? Accommodation is certainly not a problem, as there are excellent facilities available to suit everybody's pocket. The MTA and the GTA should explore the possibility of encouraging tour operators to start offering similar packages to their clients.

During the presentation of the report, Dr Refalo spoke at length on the proposed golf course at Ta' Cenc - an issue that has been met with considerable opposition from environment groups. There is no doubt that having a golf course in Gozo could help to attract low season golfers to Malta, in turn, giving a boost of occupancy levels. There are, however, two points that must be taken into consideration.

The minister has given assurances that adequate environmental safeguards have been committed to protect the environment, enhance and better present the site's heritage. This, we feel, is a cardinal point. The environment must come first at all times. There are no ifs and buts.

Secondly, the MTA, GTA and the tourism ministry must ensure that when the proposed development is given the go-ahead, the golf course will serve its purpose - to attract more tourists to Gozo. It is useless having a golf course if the number of visitors coming over exclusively to play golf does not justify such development.