Sustainability

Malta is an island within the Mediterranean Sea, one of the most visited tourist areas in the world. It is estimated that about 300 million people visit the coast around the Mediterranean each year.

Malta cannot act alone to maintain the quality of the water of the Mediterranean and has to work with other countries to ensure that the quality of water in the Mediterranean Sea is of a good quality.

One of the major developments has been the introduction of the Mediterranean Blue Plan, which is an agreement between the countries bordering the Mediterranean about measures to ensure water quality.

Malta is also looking at measures to preserve water supplies on the island. One of the problems is that the peak tourist season coincides with the lowest rainfall, and so measures have to be taken to ensure that there is enough water of the right quality. It is estimated that each tourist uses up to 850 litres of water a day. Therefore it is important to obtain water supplies without taking water from environmentally sensitive areas.

The Government of Malta is increasingly aware that sustainable tourism is vital to the long term prosperity of Malta. Like many destinations, tourism is very important to the economy of the island, and careful planning is required to ensure that tourism continues in the future. Without tourism the islands economy cannot be sustained.

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