GozoNews.Com

Domestic Tourism to Gozo was very fragile and it was crucial that all stakeholders draw up a contingency plan to avoid a repeat of Friday’s record queues for the ferry service, Gozo Tourism Association secretary Joe Muscat said yesterday.

“Let us learn from this experience. It is not the first time that this has happened and we should be prepared so that it won’t happen again.”

Friday’s tailbacks to cross over to Gozo will go down in history - people had to wait at least eight hours to make the 25-minute trip between the islands.

Strong winds and bad luck conspired against Gozo Channel, leaving it with just one ferry as thousands attempted to cross over for Carnival weekend. The two other ferries could not operate for most of the day because of technical faults and the weather forced a transfer of operations from Cirkewwa to the longer route from Sa Maison.

“We don’t want people to be discouraged from coming to Gozo. Some were actually commenting that it would have been easier to fly to New York than to make the crossing - on Friday we were so near, yet so far!” Mr Muscat told The Sunday Times.

“Certain things that happened on Friday were beyond our control, but there could have been better co-ordination between the quay and the queues so that things could have proceeded more smoothly,” he added.

Without attempting to hazard a guess on the losses Gozo businesses encountered, Mr Muscat said that Friday’s incident dealt a blow to those who were expecting a busy night.

The only good thing was that, since the Nadur carnival had become such a crowd-puller, many Maltese were put on the waiting lists of hotels and farmhouses. As people became disheartened with the long delays and decided to cancel their booking, others on the waiting list took their place, which softened the financial blow.

“We do not wish to see the situation repeated. We need to have a proper contingency plan. Let us all sit down and discuss the matter to ensure we’re well prepared. We - both the Maltese who want to cross over and the Gozitans - cannot continue enduring these hardships,” he added.

So was this another good reason to broach the subject of a bridge between the two islands?

“Let’s put it this way, the government is investing millions in the harbours’ project so I doubt constructing a bridge is on anyone’s financial plans. We have to work with what we have and with the present infrastructure,” Mr Muscat said.

Could using the catamaran service be a viable option in cases where the ferries experience technical problems?

“It could be an option, but Gozo Channel has a monopoly of the route. It’s something that could be discussed,” he added.

Mr Muscat said the businesses and entertainment outlets were hoping to make up for Friday’s losses over this weekend.

Meanwhile, the Gozo Channel service was back to normal yesterday and operating a shuttle service with three ferries.

The company apologised for inconveniences caused and thanked all those who helped manage the situation and resolve the technical issues in the shortest time possible, including Gozo Channel employees, all the technical teams working on the ferries and police officers at the terminals.