Is-suċċess li qed ikollu t-turiżmu ma jridx iħallina nagħlqu għajnejna għall-problemi li l-istess suċċess jista’ qed joħloq. Jekk se jibqgħu sodi, mhux jinħallu mil-lum għal għada, l-aqwa suċċessi huma dawk ibbażati fuq “value for money”: il-klijent irid iħoss li ta’ li ħallas, ingħata dak li jistħoqqlu u aktar. Riżultat bħal dan jintlaħaq jekk il-kwalità fis-servizzi li joffru l-lukandi u stabbilimenti turistiċi tagħna tiġi sostnuta.
Lil hinn mir-rapporti li jixxandru fil-gazzetti, smajt stejjer personali ta’ nies li fil-lukandi tagħna llum ma ngħatawx is-servizz li ħallsu għalih. Rimedju għal dan-nuqqas ftit li xejn kellhom jew għandhom.
Imma b’rimedju ftit se jissewwa. Jibqa’it-timbru li l-kwalità mistennija ma ntlaħqitx.
F’soċjetà ċkejkna bħal tagħna ma jeżistux kontrolli serji professjonali u kummerċjali fuq operaturi li jinsabu fl-istess qasam. Ħokkli dahri biex inħokklok tiegħek. Dik hi r-regola.
Mentri rridu niżguraw li s-suċċess tal-lum ma jispiċċax ostaġġ ta’ dawk li qed jabbużaw minnu.
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Kontabilità fil-media
Il-media jinsistu bir-raġun li għandhom ikollhom indipendenza sħiħa fil-mod kif joperaw u ħelsien minn kull indħil mhux xieraq fit-tmexxija tagħhom. B’hekk ikunu jistgħu jirrapportaw bla xkiel dwar fatti u opinjonijiet ħalli ċ-ċittadini jkunu informati tajjeb dwar il-ġrajjiet li qed jiġru madwarhom. L-aħbarijiet m’għandhomx jisfaw imċallsa skont il-fehmiet ta’ partiti politiċi jew interessi kummerċjali.
Madankollu, saret ħaġa ċara li l-media aktar u aktar mhumiex biss medhija filli jxandru notizji dwar ġrajjiet għaddejja. Huma interessati wkoll filli jagħtu sura lill-ġrajjiet, u anki direzzjoni.
F’das-sens, ma nafx għaliex il-media m’għandhomx huma wkoll ikunu suġġetti għal skrutinju ta’ trasparenza li jixbah lil dak li jitpoġġa fuq partiti politiċi.
Kif inhuma ffinanzjati l-media? Min qiegħed jikkontrollahom? X’interessi għandu?
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Aktar fuq sigurtà
Meta l-ajruport internazzjonali ta’ Brussell ġie biex jerġa’ jinfetaħ nhar il-Ġimgħa li għadda, seħħet tilwima bejn is-servizzi ta’ sigurtà u pulizija tal-ajruport, u t-tmexxija tiegħu. Tal-ewwel sostnew li għad ma kienx hemm provedimenti ta’ sigurtà effettivi biżżejjed fl-ajruport u ddeċidew li jistrajkjaw.
Xorta waħda l-ajruport kien se jiftaħ, kieku fetaħ, għal għoxrin fil-mija tal-kapaċità li jlaħħaq magħha kuljum. Il-posponiment tal-ftuħ ftit seta’ jikkawża inkonvenjenti akbar minn dawk li diġà nqalgħu fl-aħħar ġimgħa u nofs fost mijiet ta’ eluf ta’ passiġġieri li jgħaddu mill-ajruport u l-familji tagħhom.
Biss ir-riflessjoni li dan l-episodju jqajjem hi ta’ dwejjaq għall-fatt li reġa’ ntwera kif it-tmexxija tas-sigurtà fil-qalba tal-Ewropa għadha mhix effettiva u kordinata biżżejjed. Hu minħabba f’hekk ukoll li t-terroriżmu jirnexxilu jwettaq il-kolpi tiegħu.
English Version – Quality
Tourism’s current surge of success should not blind us to the problems that the same success is giving rise to. If they are going to stay valid, not dissolve by tomorrow, the best successes are those which give value for money. The client must feel that he is receiving what is due to him and more for payments made.
Beyond press reports, I have listened to complaints made by ordinary people about how at hotels, they received less than what they had bargained for. Faced with such a situation, they found there was, is, practically no remedy.
In any case, remedies do little to correct what has gone wrong. The failure to achieve what was promised by way of quality becomes a signpost of things to come.
In a small society like ours, solid professional and commercial controls on operators within the same sector hardly exist. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours, that’s the dominant value.
Yet we need to ensure that today’s success is not held hostage by those who seek to abuse it.
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Accountability in the media
The media rightly insist they should be allowed total independence in how they operate as well as full freedom from all unwarrantable interference in their management. So, they can report fully on facts and opinions, thereby keeping citizens well informed about breaking news. Events should not be projected according to the views of political parties or commercial interests.
However, it has become clear that increasingly, the media are not just in the business of shovelling ongoing news across. They are also interested in shaping emerging events as well as their development.
Given this, I wonder whether the media too should be subject to a scrutiny that resembles the one that is being placed on political parties to ascertain transparency.
How are the media being financed? Who is controlling them? How are their controller’s interests defined?
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More on security
When Brussels international airport was about to reopen last Friday, a dispute arose between the airport’s police and security services, and its management. The former claimed that security measures at the airport were still inadequate and decided to strike.
Even so, had it opened, the airport would have run initially at 20 per cent of its daily capacity. When its opening was postponed, the inconvenience created could hardly have been greater than what had already been endured over the last week and a half by the hundreds of thousands of passengers and their families who transit through the airport.
However what this episode gives rise to by way of reflection is disquiet at the fact that once again, it has been shown how the maintenance of security at the centre of Europe is still not sufficiently effective and coordinated. That’s another reason why terrorists succeed in launching their strikes.
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