New rules 'will sink' water sports firms

Echoing the fears expressed by the Water Sports Operators' Association, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association is worried that the new Commercial Vessels Regulations could badly hit the tourism industry in summer.

New testing requirements have drastically reduced the number of passengers commercial boats will be licensed to carry.

The MHRA said the rules had been drawn up without any consultation with the main players in the industry and no impact assessment study had been carried out.

It said it was informed by the Water Sports Operators Association that "operators could throw away their craft and close down their businesses".

But the authorities seemed unwilling to listen and try to understand the negative impact the regulations would have on the tourism industry, the MHRA charged.

MHRA president Winston J. Zahra said it was unbelievable how "insensitive" authorities and certain ministries were to the industry. This was a clear example of how certain regulations were pushed through the system without the necessary consultation or proper thought given to key economic activities.

The regulations, Mr Zahra complained, would hit all facets of the industry including leisure travellers, conference and incentive delegates as well as cruise liner passengers who also made use of these services.

The MHRA strongly urged the authority concerned and the transport minister to review the regulations.

The tourism industry needed support and could quite simply do without any more problems "created by ourselves, locally", the MHRA said.