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Tourist operators concerned over impact of black economy
The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) says only 70% of tourist arrivals lodge in hotels and other licensed accommodations.
18 December 2011, 12:00am
Julia Farrugia
Julia Farrugia
1 min read
MHRA President Tony Zahra
MHRA's new president Tony Zahra said Air Malta and Enemalta are the two main problems which they'd like government to address.
"We have long been telling government it has two problems. We are not convinced Enemalta's costs are such they cannot be reduced," Zahra said in an interview with Sunday newspaper Illum.
He said Air Malta's situation is worrying, especially when considering that the national airline is not only crucial for tourism but for the whole country as well.
Zahra criticised government for not taking action on the 30% of tourists who come to Malta and lodge in unlicensed accommodations. Their money, he said, ends up in the black economy.
"Government is losing VAT and other tax it would otherwise collect. 30% means loss of millions of euros each year. Government is the regulator and it is his responsibility to see everyone is observing the law," he said.
Zahra also tells Illum tourism should have its own government ministry.
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Read more in Illum’s digital edition
Julia Farrugia is a former editor of Illum newspaper.
Adrian Pace •
It's about time that MHRA starts looking into controlling it's own members and ensure that tourists are offered the services that they have paid for.
Maybe MHRA should also look into the abuses that are going on with regards to local tourist agencies with their exorbitant service charges which are hidden from the enquiring tourist until the final payment is asked settled.
It's easy to point fingers but what are the hoteliers and industry stake holders doing to promote Malta on international fora. And what about the ever decreasing conditions of the workers who earn a livelihood from the sector?
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This is so fine coming from a person who benefitted under the previous red regime and made money 'that way'. Now that the boots on the other foot he doesn't like it. And yes, maybe the other 30% are returning family from working overseas, I have 7 family members returning to their family for Christmas. Go suck on that log and do something constructive not 'gem gem' as usual.
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Tony, you simply assume that 30% of "tourists" are entering the black economy, but how much of your 30% are friends and family, staying with friends and family in Malta? Surely you don't expect them to pay for hotel space just to satisfy your profits.
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Maybe they should worry more about tourists not arriving at all, due to world economy.
Also they could make an attempt to spread tourism more evenly over the year.
Many of my countrymen come back from Malta in July and all they remember is the heat that they couldn't stand.
The Green islands that I visited in spring, they only know them from catalogues!
Make people aware of seasons before they come to Malta and they might actually come back like I do.
But that's what tour operators do: photograph Green Malta, Gozo and Comino in spring and then sell holidays in the hot summer.
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You sould not forget and care for the maltese tourist who is in Malta the whole year round especially in your two hotels.
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The MHRA should act as a wathdog and not a poodle to GOvernment. For long it was the moughpiece of GoV. MTA is well equipped legally to deal with any unlicensed accommodation, and yet, some 10 years down the line we have this problem, never mind that some hotels allegedly indulge into activities and go unnoticed but the ground table pays!
