Government clamps down on unlicensed holiday accommodations

A campaign to clamp down on unlicensed holiday accommodations resulted in the initiation of legal proceedings against 77 cases during 2016, according to Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis. 

Of these, 61 were so-called 'holiday furnished properties' (HFP) and the private properties were traced after having been discovered being advertised on online booking or classifieds portals. 

Zammit Lewis, who was addressing a press conference on the launch of an educational campaign on the benefits of licensing holiday accommodation, said the government would not let anyone “tarnish Malta's reputation” as a quality tourist destination. 

"Tourists coming to Malta expect a quality product and we must ensure that all accommodation is up to the standards expected," he said.

"Tourism remained strong in 2016, with the number of tourists who visited Malta falling short of out projected target of two million visitors by only 40,000."

The minister said the government would soon introduce a number of amendments to existing legislation to keep regulation up to date with modern day technology and practices. 

“The method of classifying accommodation is considered outdated, for example, as is the legislation regulating current methods of booking," he said. 

The aim of the educational campaign was to improve the tourist product and to put all operators on a level playing field. 

Paul Bugeja, chief executive officer of the Malta Tourism Authority, said that the educational campaign will highlight the ministry's and the MTA's emphasis on quality and standards across all accommodation offered. 

The campaign will include TV, radio and print advertising as well as social media. 

The aim of the campaign was to raise awareness on the importance of being propeprly licensed - which is a legal obligation - as well as emphasising the advantages. 

Bugeja said there were currently nearly 4,000 licensed accommodation premises, including hotels, guesthouses, hostels and holiday furnished premises. 

The number of licensed holiday furnished premises rose from 2,329 in 2015 to 2,700 last year. Of those, 670 were inspected to monitor the adherence to standards required. 

A further 207 unlicensed properties, which were discovered to be offering tourist accommodation were inspected, resulting in 61 legal action proceedings against owners. 

In all, 474 properties were discovered to be offering holiday accommodation without being licensed.