Hoteliers, restaurateurs propose national conference on hunting

The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) will be proposing to various stakeholders including NGOs, Government and the ORNIS committee to hold a national conference to discuss in an open forum the impact of hunting on the Maltese economy and way of life.

MHRA President Tony Zahra said the association had to take into consideration the "economic implication" that hunting might have on the tourism industry.

The association has lately been vociferous in its position on hunting, calling for zero-tolerance on illegal hunting and expressing concern on the impact repeated reporting of illegal hunting could have on the domestic tourism industry.

Only last night, hunting federation FKNK issued a statement quoting an increase of 35% in German tourists.

"MHRA has always been on the forefront to discuss issues that impact the tourism industry and we are always focused on finding solutions through discussion," Zahra said.

"Maltese law allows for hunting to be practised at certain times of the year and we fully respect this fact, however as the association representing the Tourism industry in Malta, with hundreds of millions of Euros in investments and thousands of people in tourism related jobs, we must also take into consideration the economic implication that hunting might have on this industry."

Zahra argued that Malta was a small island and disturbed tourists in today's social media world could give Malta bad publicity.

"In a world facing serious economic turbulence MHRA's main concern is to see how one can grow our economy to create new jobs and maintain our standards including public services such as in healthcare and pensions," he said.

Zahra added that any downturns in economic activity will be negatively felt immediately in the pockets of the Maltese people. "The Tourism industry has tremendous benefits for everyone as can be felt by everyone from the Easter season onwards and we have to be extremely careful in ensuring our guests keep coming to Malta in ever increasing numbers," he said.

MHRA said that reality had to be faced by all concerned and called for a pragmatic approach, arguing that the reputation and economic welfare of Malta was at stake.

"It is clear that there is a challenge in addressing the economic issues raised by operators in the tourism industry, and the issues raised by the hunting lobby group. MHRA is therefore calling upon Government and all stakeholders to attend a national conference and address how best to reconcile legal hunting practice with economic growth," Zahra added.

"Malta needs to be smart to ensure that everyone is a winner and that there are no losers."