MTA staff clean up Valletta

On the occasion of World Environment Day, the staff of the Malta Tourism Authority yesterday undertook to give something back to the city in which they are based and the organisation they work for.

Armed with brooms, garbage bags and an assortment of cleaning products, the MTA staff embarked on a mission to give a facelift to the main public areas at the entrance to and within Valletta. By the end of the afternoon, the bus terminus, Triton fountain, Freedom Square and Republic Street, amongst others, were looking in much better shape than usual.

Apart from its practical aspect, this initiative also ties up with the MTA’s efforts in highlighting the vital link between tourism and the environment. Together with the obvious health-related benefits to the local community, there is the consideration that a clean environment is conductive to more amenable surroundings for recreation purposes, both for locals and overseas visitors.

This is not the first time that the MTA has focused its attention on Valletta. In April, the Authority organised two major events: the "Valletta: History and Elegance Festival", as well as the "Valletta Evenings: A City Alive", both of which were very successful in attracting Maltese and tourists to Valletta and in generating interest in our capital.

For the occasion of World Environment Day, the MTA would also like to appeal to the local community and tourists alike to keep Malta clean by producing less waste and wherever possible, to apply the "three Rs" - reduce, reuse and recycle, in order to tackle the long term waste problem at source.

The Valletta clean-up was an initiative of the MTA’s Social Activities Club in collaboration with the Authority’s Product Planning and Development Directorate.