Bid to ensure enforcement of new timeshare rules

The Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises - GRTU has appointed representatives to monitor the main roads in Bugibba, Qawra and St Paul's Bay to ensure that the new time share regulations are being enforced, director general Vince Farrugia said yesterday.

The GRTU also called on the Tourism Ministry to ensure that, now that timeshare regulations had been revised, the business would regain the respect it deserved.

"The whole responsibility now falls in the hands of the chief enforcement officer within the Tourism Ministry and the Malta Tourism Authority. They now don't have the excuse that the regulations are not enforceable," Mr Farrugia said.

He was speaking during a meeting with tourist operators and bar and restaurant owners in Qawra, Bugibba and St Paul's Bay.

As Mr Farrugia outlined the new timeshare regulations he explained that they were based on a system of bank guarantees for all individuals licensed to sell timeshare.

Anyone who sold timeshare was to wear a tag that ensured that s/he was licensed and also identified the seller's employer.

The new regulations also included strict guidelines on the sellers' behaviour with the aim of filtering out those who cause damage to the business' reputation.