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THE GOZO TIMES - The Times of Malta - 18th April 2005
Be my GUEST
The MTA just launched its “Special Thanks And Recognition” scheme, using the phrase’s acronym to challenge front-liners in the tourism industry to “be a STAR”. The aim is to encourage these employees to render a better service.
I’m always so negative - at least that’s what some people keep telling me. And true to this reputation, I don’t believe that such a scheme is what our tourist industry needs. To start with, it is not fair that just one person should be chosen as winner, one of thousands who give a good service with a smile and against all odds. These odds being the infrastructure that is supposed to be supporting the Maltese islands’ main source of income.
Although I am one of those front-liners myself, I actually have no intention to compete. I would rather like to suggest an all new edition of the STAR scheme. The coveted price would be up for grabs for the winner of the GUEST competition: The “Gozitan United Efforts for Satisfied Tourists” scheme. Eligible are members of governmental departments and organisations that intend to improve our guests’ standard of vacation, for example:
• Foremen who understand that an overflowing cesspit, spilling its gory contents into the street on a Friday afternoon, actually does constitute an emergency situation that cannot wait until Monday.
• Persons in authority who recognise that there really is no need for works in progress to be seen, but that it is the results that count. Isn’t it time some-one saw to it that major works – no matter how much of an improvement they are arriving at – are carried out between November and February?
• Some official who surprises us by admitting that there are far worse roads in Gozo than the one leading from the harbour to Victoria and beyond. The road leading to Xlendi is a disgrace to the idyllic valley it borders. The terrible condition of the road leading from Nadur to our largest and most popular sandy beach had so many negative public mentions that one wonders if that fact actually contributed to its rundown state.
• Courageous cabinet members who come to their senses, and are able to convince their peers of how meaningless it is to have a close season for hunting, only to open it again on Good Friday. When our tourist industry is finally expecting a fresh breath after a dead winter, the season’s first guests are unexpectedly treated to an adventure holiday with a difference: Real lead pellets are delivered free of charge to their breakfast table on the patio, or into the private pool of their farmhouse, while genuine sound effects – a further gratis bonus – are not amiss either.
• The Heritage Malta official who recognises that the historical and cultural sites in Gozo do form part of the Maltese heritage. The proudly presented list of heritage sites that opened their doors to the public on Good Friday did not include a single Gozitan site or museum – an outrageous case of discrimination!
These are but a few examples, interested parties are welcome to submit their nominations by e-mail!
As a parting thought, perhaps it is in order for me to revise my earlier “negative” response to the MTA’s STAR scheme. It is negative only in the overall picture of things – because it is not us who need polishing, but the country as a whole. No matter how pleasant the bus driver, receptionist or room attendant is, they can’t distract from surroundings that are in a shambles. Hundreds of visitors’ letters that have been published in the local press speak volumes. Doesn’t anybody in authority read them?