A Triple Bottom Line Analysis of Malta Essay

1.Introduction The Republic of Malta is located in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an independent country, which includes the islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino, covering an area of 316 square kilometres. The Republic of Malta has a population of 417,617 (National Statistics, Demographic Review 2010) most of who live on the island of Malta. Appendix 1 shows that tourism in Malta started to grow in the late 1960’s with visitor numbers increasing from 47,804 in 1965 to 334,519 by 1975. By 1980 visitors numbers were up to 728,732, with the tourism industry aimed at attracting the mass market. (Lockhart, 1997) The latest tourist numbers stand at 1.3 million. (National Statistics, Tourist Departures, 2010) As with many Mediterranean islands Malta’s tourism has been historically focused on mass tourism, sun, sea and sand package holidays resulting in the neglect of historical cultural and environmental impacts. (Dodds, 2007) The rapid development of tourism in Malta combined with the high number of seasonal visitors has lead to number of impacts. These impacts can be accessed using the triple bottom line approach developed by John Elkington in reference to the economic, social and environmental impacts. (Elkington, 1997) 2.Issues When identifying the issues that Malta is facing, the principles of the Cape Town Declaration, Agenda 21 and the context of Responsible Tourism have been used as point of reference as well as a number of official reports, including the State of the Environment Reports (2002, 1998 and 2005 and Malta’s National Report to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002). On the basis of this research the following issues have been identified. 2.1Economic Issues 2.1.1Pressure on the island infrastructure The rapid development of the tourism industry in Malta has resulted in insufficient consideration and planning being given to the country’s infrastructure. Malta is a small island, yet its infrastructure, as previously mentioned now has to support its own population and the 1.3 million tourists. Despite the growing numbers of tourists, inadequate investment into the country’s infrastructure is still not in place. This is a common issue in many resorts; infrastructures are unable to cope with the intensity of tourist visitation at peak periods of the year (Mathieson and Wall 1982) Malta’s roads are of poor condition. With congestion, noise and air pollution being an issue. The water supply, waste management, beaches and visitor attractions are stretched to capacity in the summer months each year when visitor numbers are at their peak. 2.1.2Seasonality of visitors Tourism in Malta is very seasonal, with the majority of incoming tourists arriving in the May to October period. In 2005, 68.4% of tourists arrived during these months, with 47.8% arriving during the months of July and September. (Appendix 2 shows Malta’s Tourist Departures 2001-2005) This shows that tourist densities in Malta are very high during the peak season. In recent years the total number of tourists amounted to almost three times as much as the resident population. (Briguglio and Briguglio, 1996) 2.2Social Issues 2.2.1Employment Malta’s tourism industry operates 12 months of the year; the seasonality causes issues for the Maltese citizens as employment within the tourism sector in not full time. High tourist densities As previously mentioned, Malta has a densely populated country. The influx of visitors who arrive during the busy peak season, cause overcrowding and congestion, putting increased pressure on the already strained infrastructure. This creates discomfort for the local residents. (Briguglio and Briguglio, 1996) as they are unable to use the local transport, visit places of interest or go to the beach. Damage to historical places is caused through frequent visitor numbers with many of the important locations being in a state of decay 2.3Environmental Issues 2.3.1Rapid increase in building work Building of tourist accommodation in Malta has increased at a very rapid rate as a result of intensive development in certain areas (Briguglio and Briguglio, 1996). High rise concrete hotels have replaced the traditional Maltese houses, losing local culture and character. The increased construction work and development of the tourism industry as had a negative impact on the environment, as not enough commitment has been shown to the protection of the important habitats. The quarrying itself has an environmental impact, land degradation and dust pollution. The waste products left after construction, such as rubble, are not currently recycled, and are often dumped. (A Sustainable Development Strategy for the Maltese Islands, 2006) Also most of the buildings are not energy efficient, causing wasted energy and increased co2. Renewable energy has not been incorporated into many of the properties. 2.3.2Waste The sewage network in Malta is heavily taxed by the native population alone. (Briguglio and Briguglio, 1996). The high number of tourists increases this problem. This has had several knock-on effects including foul smells; bays having to be closed for swimming due to sewage pollution, degradation of flora and fauna as well as damage to the coastal and marine life. Certain areas of Malta remain characterised by high levels of littering and dumping. (www.mepa.org.mt/ter08-resources+waste). 2.3.3Water Freshwater remains a scare national resource in Malta, particularly during the peak summer months due to the increased population density and arid climate. (www.mepa.org.mt/ter08-freshwater). Hotels use large amounts of water for swimming pools and watering gardens, which adds further pressure to the limited supply. Malta has a high dependence on desalinated water, which is expensive to produce both from an economic and environmental point of view. Leakages from the distribution network are a problem as is the quality of the drinking water. 3Priorities The main issues identified by the triple bottom line analysis of Malta are with the rapid development of the mass tourism sun, sea and sand market, consideration was not given to the country’s infrastructure. Future planning had not been put in place as to how the country would deal with high numbers of visitors during the summer months, and what environmental effects this would have on the country. The priorities focus on the issues which need to be addressed. 3.1 Investment in infrastructure Tourism is important to Malta’s economy, it is therefore of the upmost importance that the infrastructure is improved, so that it is able to handle growing visitor numbers. Upgrade of the roads is necessary; if the roads were in improved, it would reduce the congestion and noise problem, making the visitor experience better as well as being a much needed improvement for the local people. 3.2 Development of tourism product during the off peak season Malta currently depends heavily on the summer mass-tourism sun, sea and sand market. During the summer its visitor numbers are reaching capacity. Attention needs to be given to reducing seasonality through further development, education and marketing of the other facilities and attractions that Malta have to offer, encouraging existing summer visitors and potential new visitors to stay during off-peak season. This would benefit the local economy and the local people through full time employment, if the visitor numbers are spread throughout the year, local people would also not have the issue with overcrowding of local attractions. Finally the natural resources would also be better off if demand during the summer was less. 3.3 Water and waste improvements Water supply and waste management systems need to be addressed The sewerage system needs to be addressed, currently most of effluents into the marine environment, which continues to have a detrimental effect on the environment as well as health threats to people using the sea. Littering, noise, clean water, lack of greenery and open spaces are among the factors that have an impact of Malta’s natural heritage and negatively influence the competitiveness of the overall Maltese product. If these matters are improved the experience for the tourist would be enhanced and the quality of life of the Maltese people would be enriched.  Both are essential to sustain the current tourism industry, and looking forward, these systems need to be invested in, if the tourism industry is to continue to grow. 4.Conclusion Mass tourism cannot continue in Malta, as it has in other Mediterranean destinations, who have more space and resources to support such visitor numbers. Maltese Tourism must find a balance between increased tourism numbers with the needs of the local residents and the environment, so going forward it becomes more sustainable. Creating better places for people to live in and for people to visit. (The Cape Town Declaration, 2002).