Chef Patron Sean Gravina calls for honest conversation on Malta’s future in tourism

In a candid Facebook post that quickly resonated with hundreds of followers, renowned chef patron Sean Gravina of Crust Bistro & Bar shared an unfiltered reflection on Malta’s tourism and service industry – one that strikes at the heart of some of the island’s most pressing challenges.

Fresh from a short stay in northern Sicily, Mr Gravina contrasted the experience with life and business back home. What began as praise for Sicily’s “simple and genuine” hospitality soon evolved into a sobering commentary on Malta’s overreliance on foreign labour, loss of service culture, and unsustainable economic growth.

“Every single person offering a service… was Italian,” he noted of his trip. “In that part of Sicily, like much of it, there’s not enough work for foreigners. That’s just how it is.”

Returning to Malta, Mr Gravina observed a stark difference: The vast majority of service roles – hospitality, cleaning, gardening, construction – are now filled by foreign workers. He was quick to clarify that this wasn’t about salary disparities but about cultural shifts in local attitudes.

“The reality is the Maltese don’t want to serve anymore. They want to be served,” he wrote. “It’s not a judgement. It’s just the truth of where we’ve come as a country.”

“Sicily is winning”

Mr Gravina didn’t stop at labour trends. He expressed deep concern about the quality of tourism Malta is currently attracting, suggesting that Sicily has the upper hand when it comes to drawing respectful, engaged visitors who contribute to an authentic holiday atmosphere.

“If I were a tourist planning a trip to this part of Europe, why would I choose Malta over Sicily? What would convince me to book here instead?”

The contrast, in his view, comes down to more than landscapes and food. It’s about numbers – specifically, overpopulation and oversaturation. From the number of restaurants and businesses to the sheer volume of people and traffic, Mr Gravina argued that Malta’s compact size is being disregarded in favour of unchecked expansion.

“If we respected our size more, we’d understand the need to limit certain things. Because the oversaturation we’re seeing… is doing more harm than good.”

His proposed starting point? Acknowledging that with progress has also come regress. The sheer volume of businesses opening has created a system dependent on cheap, fast labour, often at the expense of quality and sustainability.

A broken model in need of repair

Mr Gravina’s message to the tourism and hospitality sector was blunt, that the current business models are no longer aligned with the type of tourists Malta is attracting.

“Restaurants and the tourists we’re attracting are on two totally different paths,” he warned. “We either adapt… or we come together, admit where we are, and start making the kind of national changes that will bring the right tourists back.”

He called for a long-term, realistic strategy – not political platitudes or short-term fixes. A national conversation, he said, is needed to “rebuild Malta into something we’re truly proud of again.”

And while acknowledging the complexities of the issue, he ended on a hopeful note, expressing confidence in the current Tourism Minister’s ability to steer change – if the country is willing to do the hard work.

“This needs a serious, long-term, ten-year national plan. Otherwise, we just need to accept that these are the tourists we’re going to have, and that’s that.”

Whether one agrees with his assessment or not, the message shows that Malta is at a crossroads. If the country is serious about protecting its identity and improving the quality of its tourism offering, it must first get real about the changes required – and the trade-offs that come with them.