Can Tourist Luxury Trickle Down to the Common Residents of Malta?

Read some posts on online forums about Malta, and chances are that one would soon come across complaints that the prices do not match incomes. The ever-increasing costs of newly constructed condominiums and hotels aside, the biggest peeve among posters seems to be the country's restaurants. Despite the island being home to more than half a million residents, the eateries seem to cater exclusively to the influx of tourists with deep pockets, putting together posh dishes at posher prices, while giving those on a budget slim pickings beyond fried chicken and kebab shops. 

As someone interested in occasionally dining out for something nicer than fast food, I am keen to prove these posters wrong. Going into Valletta's UNESCO-worthy historical streets and Sliema's seaside promenade with the unimpeded Mediterranean views is bound to fall straight into the tourist establishments. Backstreet bars in remote villages may offer cheap grub, but hardly at a quality that can be considered appropriate for an appropriate dining out experience. Finding the middle ground between the two has become a bit of a personal obsession.

Then I came across the local bocci club in my neighborhood of St. Paul's Bay, with its attached restaurant spilling onto the sidewalk, a stone's throw away from lapping waves crushing against the rocks below. The location is no less beautiful than anything the tourist-filled parts of the island have to offer. And because it serves a residential community far from hotels, public transport links, and major roads, there is little expectation of casual visitors making the trek for a meal. It is the goldilocks of localized everyday luxury dining.

On a casual Sunday night that I visited, the restaurant was, as expected, devoid of the loud foreign crowds. Besides my wife and I, all patrons were locals, with older gentlemen having a chat over a few beers, and a few families with young kids in tow. With an elementary school and a kids' playground next to the bocci club as well, the eatery seems to cater well to the youngsters, with plenty of their favorite French fries, burgers, and nuggets, as well as fridges full of ice cream cones and soft drinks chilled and ready to serve.

Yet, the other offerings were by no means inferior to what Valletta's most trafficked restaurants can muster. Coming into the restaurants, I could see big portions of freshly made pasta and grilled fish being served. Our own orders of lamb shanks and seafood risotto were large in volume and meticulously presented, with tastes delicious enough to remember. And as the sea reflects the pink hue of the autumn sunset, the atmosphere is enough for us to overlook the fact that we sat on plastic chairs under ordinary streetlights. 

What's more surprising is the price. At 15-20 euros per main dish, the restaurant did not at all undersell itself just because it could not get the tourist traffic. While hard to tell whether the pricing came from costly ingredients, labor, or profit margins, the customers, none of whom were particularly wealthy looking, did not seem to mind the price tag. So much for the online complaints about Malta pricing out its residents in favor of the richer tourists. Even with their local salaries, locals are still willing to dine out in this little seaside gem.

Still, it is hard to tell how representative those elderly men and families with kids are at the bocci club restaurant. But one thing is for certain. While online posters may complain about the visible inequality in Malta of the rich tourist living it up at the expense of the poorer locals who see no benefit from the inbound travel boom, the reality is much more nuanced. At least some portion of the Maltese population is comfortable enough to be spending in local establishments that need no tourists to charge prices that tourists regularly pay. 

So while Malta continues to grow on the back of the luxuries constructed ostentatiously for the foreigners, the benefits indeed have been reflected somewhat in the local purchasing power as well. Maybe the average Maltese middle class does not have the luxury of flying across the world for vacations like the international arrivals in Malta are, but they seem to at least hold their own in consumption, propping up local businesses that keep a more authentic side of Malta just as developed as the tourist-dependent one.