Fee for entry to part of St George's Bay beach

An area of the St George's Bay sandy beach, which was expanded and upgraded by the government in recent months, is to be subject to an entry fee.

It will be named Paranga Beach and will be managed by InterContinental Malta following the award of the beach concession facilities to the Eden Leisure Group, which owns the hotel managed by the InterContinental Hotels Group.

The beach will not be reserved for residents of the InterContinental Malta only but will be open to the public. Only a restricted area will be subject to an entry fee, InterContinental Malta's general manager Christophe Laure, said.

He said that access to the greater part of the beach will be free of charge and members of the public can bring along their own umbrellas and deckchairs.

"They will be able to use our showers and lavatories and we will keep the whole of the beach clean and neat. Sunbeds and umbrellas will be available for hire and there will also be water-sports facilities. The service is what is expected within a 5-star resort," he added.

A beach restaurant called Paranga will serve Mediterranean cuisine while a beach bar and café called The Lido Terrace will serve food and drinks throughout the day.

There will also be a kiosk serving light snacks and drinks. A total of 40 employees are to be recruited to work on the beach and its restaurants.

The InterContinental Hotels Group runs resort properties in some of the world's most spectacular destinations. These include the Beachcomber InterContinental Resort in Bora Bora, the Carlton InterContinental in Cannes and the Al Bustan Palace in Oman.

"We are looking forward to further enhancing the area with what we intend to be a chic and innovative ambience for the local community and international tourism," Mr Laure said.

"Tourism contributes towards 25 per cent of Malta's GDP and we are thrilled to be participating in this very important segment of the country's economy."