FROM SUCCESS TO SUSTAINABILITY: A ROADMAP FOR VALLETTA AND THE GRAND HARBOUR

Malta's Valletta and Grand Harbour areas are at a crossroads between preservation and growth. As experts weigh in, it becomes clear that while significant progress has been made, a unified, long-term strategy is essential to unlocking their full potential. Victor Calleja explores the path forward through the eyes of industry leaders.

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Malta is at the centre of a never-ending debate about the goose and the golden eggs. About loving the gold of the eggs but not caring enough for the goose. How true is this? What is lacking in the vision for some of Malta's prime assets, Valletta and the Grand Harbour area?

Should more be done? Should we look at what has been achieved, what has been done, and what can't be undone, and devise a proper strategy for that area in conjunction with the rest of Malta? Is there one vision, one uniting vision, that can genuinely be seen as a national one?

Three experts in the field, three people involved in the world of property and hospitality, give Money their views on where we stand and where we should be going.

Interestingly, the three agree that Valletta has been a success story and that we need to build on this success, and all agree that the Grand Harbour region has all the ingredients to be another success story. All agree that a lot still needs to be done and that we must formulate a way forward to harness the good these areas offer. They all believe in the future as long as we learn from the past. The consensus is that everyone involved, residents, entrepreneurs, government, tourism entities, and heritage organisations, must be part of the vision for the region.

Here's what Sven von der Heyden, Andrei Imbroll and Raphael Aloisio had to say about their experiences and their expectations.

Sven von der Heyden

Chairman and founder, Von der Heyden Group

Where do Valletta and the Grand Harbour stand today?

I'm totally mesmerised by Valletta—by its history, by everything about it. I feel awed when I think of how it came to be, how the Knights of Malta built it after the Great Siege as a fortress to withstand any new attacks by the Ottomans. Interestingly, it's a capital that hasn't been ransacked—aside from the bombing in WWII, of course. It's an incredible story of resilience and success.

From the 1960s to just before 2010, little happened in the city. With investors moving in and turning it from nothing, its revival has been a successful turnaround.

Now, because the Maltese are so good at business, it has gone overboard. It's definitely too noisy and disorganised. But with some care, organisation, more enforcement, and more planning, it can be improved. It needs to be managed carefully, with consideration for the residents and the flow of the city. From the heritage perspective, excellent work has been done to ensure developments respect the capital city's history.

If regulations to improve the quality of development are implemented and enforced, Valletta can be in top shape in 20 years.

The Grand Harbour itself is beautiful and breathtaking. The surroundings offer plenty of potential, but a lot needs to be done. The industrial parts, including the shipyards, are useful and necessary but are an eyesore. But this is part of the fabric of any city or string of cities. Can you change that? Can they go somewhere else? Maybe, maybe not.

But I do believe in the opposite side of the Grand Harbour. In fact, my company and I have put our money where our mouth is and invested heavily in this area. When we bought the first property in Senglea, people thought we were mad because the area was in rather bad shape. It paid off, as the area has improved a lot. We have now also invested heavily in Vittoriosa. The sheer beauty of the location speaks for itself. And the success seen in Valletta will, I'm sure, be replicated in this area, too.

What are the key challenges? Is additional intervention needed?

The noise levels need to be lowered. Traffic needs to be controlled further, and more pedestrianisation needs to be imposed for longer hours. Obviously, the ring road around Valletta works perfectly, but more enforcement is needed to keep the traffic flowing. Traffic in Malta—like noise—is a macro problem for the whole of Malta that needs to be solved not just for quality tourism but for any tourism and the locals.

The city's whole organisational structure needs to consider anyone connected to Valletta. Deliveries can't happen at all times of the day, and cleanliness needs to be improved. Valletta needs its residents to remain relevant, unique, and comfortable in a vibrant but liveable city.

Regarding the utilisation of properties, for example, on Republic Street and other streets, the rents for the ground floors keep skyrocketing. However, if you look at the first, second, and third floors, often there is nothing. Closed shutters and empty. That is something that I think requires intervention. Incentivise the owners to have these buildings restored and converted into residences. If necessary, the government could subsidise the rent. This is just one idea, but more ways can be found to keep Valletta's residency vibrant.

What should the vision for Valletta and the Grand Harbour be?

Regarding the future, I think Valletta is moving in the right direction. But we need to sell ourselves better.

As an island involved in the tourist development of Valletta and the Grand Harbour, Malta must raise the bar. In my view, we need fewer tourists but ones with deeper pockets. We all see how congested Malta is; the infrastructure just can't take it.

In the long term, we need to double the daily spending per client and concentrate on quality in everything we do.

What does quality tourism mean for the region? And how can it balance luxury, sustainability, and cultural preservation?

It simply means double the room rate. Don't make food more expensive because Malta has a great gastronomic offering, but it is already quite expensive.

Malta already has many great basic assets, from the airport to the history, heritage, and amazing sites. However, it needs to focus more on infrastructure, cleanliness, noise, and the environment. Taxi services should also be improved.

I also believe the government should pay more attention to ecological investments, such as green zones and areas. You just need to invest money in finding areas and planting trees and more trees. We do need more shade in Malta.

How can Valletta and the Grand Harbour achieve these long-term goals?

Ideally, all stakeholders should get together, forget their personal interests, and formulate a vision and strategy. Valletta can benefit from getting, say, 10 or 15 people who have succeeded in Valletta and the Grand Harbour and who can present their views and ideas for a way forward.

The precondition of this gathering—a think tank or whatever—is that anyone involved in it must forget all about their business. Think just about Valletta, Grand Harbour, and Malta. Think about the future. Get the mayors involved, get their input and their own vision, and maybe formulate a report that goes to the government. If enough pressure is put on the authorities, then action will be taken not just in the region but even in other areas.

Should Valletta be approached as an isolated destination, or should a broader Grand Harbour regional strategy be developed?

I think it should be a broader strategy. It has to go hand in hand, not just with the Grand Harbour, but even with the rest of Malta and Gozo. Valletta is a crown jewel. Mdina, obviously, is another crown jewel. It needs the rest because people who travel nowadays want to go beyond the area they are in.

Do you have reason for optimism?

I love Malta, and yes, I believe in it. That's why I invested here and am still investing. And I would also invest in Valletta if, or rather when, the right opportunity arises.

Andrei Imbroll

Chief executive officer, VBL Group

Where do Valletta and the Grand Harbour stand today?

Valletta has been a great success story. In 2010 or thereabouts, the authorities envisioned revitalising the city. Chapeau to them. However, it was the private investors who had the courage to take the plunge and invest in the city. We have progressed by leaps and bounds. What is needed now is to determine what we want Valletta to be. It's a totally different story for the Grand Harbour area, which is like what Valletta was 25 years ago. The process has started, and we are seeing restorations happening and businesses flourishing. I'm sure it will take time, but we'll get there.

The Grand Harbour region and Valletta are critical if we want to attract high-end tourists. We need to create a strategy for both of these regions. I believe Valletta today is touristically a power to be reckoned with. It probably also has the best accommodation in any old European historical town.

Overall, the development over the last 10 to 15 years has been done with great sensitivity.  But why should I, in 2025, still see a mountain of garbage on a street corner in Valletta? Why should the roads of Valletta be packed with delivery trucks from early morning to mid-morning? Before 10.30, you can't have a proper Valletta experience, the experience of living in an awesome place.

It's all about logistics, as with the overabundance of chairs, tables, and blaring music. I'm not saying these should be completely forbidden—far from it—but with proper rules and enforcement, the whole experience will be raised three or four notches in terms of quality.

How does Valletta compare to other Mediterranean destinations in terms of tourism appeal, infrastructure, and economic development?

There are similar cities to Valletta, but nothing is as homogeneous as Malta's capital. It is the capital, the touristic centre, a hub of commercial activity, and a residential city as well, even though there are challenges in that area.

I think that's something we really need to protect. Valletta is special. That is why, in fact, our company continues to focus on investing exclusively in Valletta.

Nowadays, tourists look for an authentic experience, and Valletta can deliver that. Walk down to the lower parts of the city, to areas that are predominantly residential, and you will find that tourists enjoy walking down these areas, getting lost, seeing the clothes hanging outside, and seeing the kids playing in the streets.

Valletta is a very successful city, and this is all thanks to urban planning. When it was built and devised by the Order, it was all zoned. Shopping, entertainment, residential, and artisanal all had their specific areas. This is getting lost, which is causing the majority of problems nowadays.

When we started in 2012, it was very difficult to get a permit for a bar outside the core area in the upper part. Now, anyone who applies gets a permit practically anywhere. We need to go back to having designated areas.

Politicians tell us that they don't want to interfere with the market. But this is not interfering; policymaking directs the market to what you want to see.

How do we compare with the other destinations?

I think we compare extremely well. Mismanaged tourism, which I prefer to over-tourism, is a problem not just here but in most other destinations. Better strategies to open and develop new attractions will help. We are seeing good initiatives right now from Heritage Malta and entrepreneurs. You deflect people in different areas. With better management, I think the entire product would benefit.

What should be the vision for Valletta and the Grand Harbour?

We need to decide whether we want high-end tourists to get away from just an emphasis on numbers and concentrate on quality, and my answer is yes. Politicians and the local population need to embrace these ideals.

If we had to work collectively, with direction from above, on getting a better quality of customer, we would get better prices, and everyone could reduce chairs and tables. We would also get better staff, offer staff training, and have less pressure on the business in general because the margins on a quality product are higher. There are ways to create sustainability and growth in the bottom line without growth in numbers, which is what many people, I think, advocate for today.

At the moment, we are doing nothing to define the product. My fear is that Valletta will become Malta rather than Malta becoming Valletta. As I said before, Valletta is the only place where urban planning ultimately gave us what we have today. Without Valletta and the Grand Harbour, Malta would be any other island in the Mediterranean.

We would have very little to identify us. We need to devise a strategy for Valletta, work on it and use it in other towns and villages.

Valletta is very attractive for high-end tourists, but it lacks high-end retail, cleanliness, organisation, and flow. We really need to concentrate on those areas.

So far, the experience is still good. I think we can easily improve it with an effort on all our parts.

What does quality tourism mean for the region, and how can it balance luxury, sustainability, and cultural preservation?

Malta is far from a high-end luxury destination, and I doubt we can get there in the foreseeable future. That doesn't mean we cannot have quality tourism. I think Malta can be a super destination for high-earner Europeans.

We offer a great cultural experience, and we have achieved a very high level in the food world.

I'm afraid we still need to work on the whole experience in the Grand Harbour region. But what we did over a period of 10 years in Valletta, we can do there.

Grand Harbour

Floriana is beautiful and has so much potential. Marsa, in my view, could also be developed. The minute you start restoring and renovating, the private sector finds investment attractive. The Three Cities have seen huge improvements.

How can the region achieve its long-term goals?

We need to attract a different client and upgrade the product. MTA does a fantastic job attracting tourists to Malta, but I would never try to attract the kind of tourist who will leave dissatisfied. We need to work on repeat business. Get the top earners to come and visit and then get their families. We need to work on this, and with a concentrated effort—and with an upgrade in the product—we can manage.

Malta is now well-connected, but we need legacy airlines to attract higher-end tourists.

Should Valletta be approached as an isolated destination? Or should a broader Grand Harbour regional strategy be developed?

You need to have a strategy for the entire island. Not just Valletta.

What are the key opportunities and reasons for optimism regarding the region's tourism potential?

We have a fantastic product. The less we do to it, the better. I think the reason for my optimism is that the fabric is there. It's like a diamond, which just needs to be chiselled. More specifically, the Grand Harbour needs to be chiselled and Valletta polished.

Raphael Aloisio

Retired Partner, Deloitte Malta

How do you feel about the Valletta and Grand Harbor concept? Do you see them as one entity, or do you view them separately? How do you feel about their current status?

Well, the idea is interesting overall. When discussing tourism or anything related to it in a broader sense, you first need a product designed for a target audience. If you're aiming for a very conservative strategy targeting one segment of people who just want to go from restaurant to restaurant, bar to bar, then no, it doesn't work. That's a very narrow strategy with a very specific audience.

But if you're considering a broader approach, something that taps into the area's culture and heritage and aims to create a more comprehensive experience for a wider market, then yes, it could definitely work.

Now, there's a business angle to consider as well, which might sound more pragmatic than idealistic. If we're talking about high-end tourism, which many people already associate with Valletta and part of Grand Harbour, then the question becomes: how do we target those people? Are Valletta and the Grand Harbour going to be the sole destinations, or do we want to attract visitors to these areas and then let them explore the rest of Malta?

One thing I'd caution against is overgeneralising or making claims without a clear, strategic plan and a realistic timeline. For instance, look at St. Julian's, which took 15 years to evolve into a five-star destination. Valletta will need the same time and investment to shift its focus toward a high-end market. We're talking about improving assets and overall product upgrades to get this transformation. I also think that high-end does not necessarily exclude anyone else. The high end can coexist with the non-high end if done well and curated well.

Valletta started its revival in 2007, and over time, we've seen the city evolve from a neglected area, basically a dead city, to what it is today. The shift to a high-end tourism destination will require patience, consistency, and vision.

So, you see the Valletta and Grand Harbor strategy as part of a much bigger, long-term plan?

Yes, exactly. It needs to be part of a broader strategy, one that includes creating a new niche sector targeting different seasonal markets. Valletta and the Grand Harbour aren't typical summer destinations, and that's part of the challenge. The long-term strategy has to evolve carefully, with a clear focus on sustainability.

As we talk about high-end, we also need to address the practicalities. A lot of the development happening right now targets middle-to-lower categories. If the aim is high-end, there will need to be a more uniform approach to match that vision. You can't just build boutique hotels and upscale restaurants while only focusing on volume tourism. There must be a balance.

Do you think high-end tourism is compatible with the current offerings in Valletta and the Grand Harbour?

There's definitely potential, but there needs to be more focus on the cultural and heritage aspects. Valletta already has these elements—churches, auberges, fortifications, and history itself—which could be used to attract high-end visitors. But again, it comes down to numbers. Can Valletta support high-end tourism and cater to the local population that is not part of that high-end market?

The key is to position Valletta in a way that balances both. If we focus solely on tourists, we lose the local flavour that makes the city unique. The answer isn't to cater exclusively to high-end tourists or the local crowd but to find a sustainable balance between the two.

You mentioned the importance of positioning. Do you think the current strategies for Valletta and the Grand Harbour are clear enough?

Unfortunately, there's no clear, cohesive strategy right now. Everyone focuses on pointing out and discussing the limitations and challenges rather than the big picture. For this to work, we need to map out a clear vision for where we want to go, starting with a solid foundation for what Valletta and Grand Harbour can offer in the long term.

But on a larger scale, my concern is that no matter what strategies we devise, the real change, or rather the main push, needs to come from the authorities.

The private sector has played a huge role in the success of areas like St. Julian's. The government's role has been to facilitate, but it's been the private sector that's driven development, and that's what's missing in Valletta right now. The private sector needs to take more initiative, but there also has to be a clear strategy, a well-formulated vision, and a plan to support this.

What should the vision for Valletta and the Grand Harbour be?

The vision should be about creating a sustainable, diverse tourism product that appeals to different niches. It can't be one-size-fits-all. We have strategies for various market segments, whether it's cultural tourism, high-end dining, or heritage experiences.

Is it a challenge to keep the momentum even when things are going well?

When things are going well, there's a tendency to let the focus slip. We need to keep that visionary thinking alive. Take the gaming sector, for example—while it was evolving, it didn't start as high-end. It took time, effort, and a strategy to build. Valletta's tourism needs the same approach. We must consider where we want to be in 20 years and plan accordingly. We need to climb those steps, and as long as we stay on track, we'll get there.

What do you think about current tourism strategies and their alignment with local needs?

The challenge is that tourism strategies often focus on volume rather than quality. We need a more balanced approach that addresses both. The MTA should help promote specific niche markets, like religious tourism, which could be developed further. However, the real work needs to be done by those outside of the MTA, who are driven not by vested interests but by the bigger vision.

Is Valletta's development hindered by trying to copy other destinations, or is there room for unique strategies?

We need to be cautious when looking at other destinations for inspiration. The key is identifying what works in other places but adapting it to Malta's unique characteristics. Valletta and the Grand Harbor need their strategy tailored to their specific needs rather than copying what's been done elsewhere.

Do you think that Valletta and the Grand Harbor can become Malta's number one tourism sector if the right strategy is implemented?

Yes, I believe it can be Malta's best tourism sector. Valletta has all the right foundations—culture, dining, heritage—it's all there. With the right plan, I think it can become a truly exciting destination, and it won't have to come at the expense of other areas. Valletta and the Grand Harbor can be reformed to become high-end tourist attractions without compromising what already works for the middle-tier tourism market.

Do you think the region can thrive without significant public sector intervention?

I think the public sector has an important role to play, but it should be more of a facilitator than a leader. The private sector should drive the strategy, but the government must support it with the proper infrastructure and incentives. There must be a clear distinction between what the public sector can do and what the private sector should handle. If the government can provide targeted incentives for quality developments, like five-star hotels, that could make a big difference.

How do you see the region's future in terms of development?

The future is bright if we approach it strategically. We need to think long-term and be willing to make the necessary investments in infrastructure and product development. The private sector needs to be more entrepreneurial, and the public sector should provide the support required to bring this vision to life. It won't be easy, but it's achievable.

This article follows from the discussion developed at the event organised by the Malta Business Network, Grand Harbour 2050: Shaping the future of Malta's premier tourism asset.

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