Laying down the law
Enforcement can be quite tricky. There is a fine line between the overzealous officer who harasses the operator over the slightest infringement and the officer who allows an operator to get away with breaking the law, encouraging others to try to do...
Enforcement can be quite tricky. There is a fine line between the overzealous officer who harasses the operator over the slightest infringement and the officer who allows an operator to get away with breaking the law, encouraging others to try to do the same.
Don't we all have our own anecdotes of wardens who we think could easily have turned a blind eye when we overtook a karozzin and just crossed a white line?
Frank Farrugia, the head of the Malta Tourism Authority's Regulatory Directorate walks that same line and is well aware of the fact that there is no black and white.
In some areas, like the control of timeshare touts (known as OPCs), the MTA has zero tolerance but in others like tables and chairs on pavements, he thinks that there is more leeway to live and let live - as long as there are no valid reasons to do otherwise.
"It is not a weakness if you are not rigid. The MTA is not just there to enforce but also to support the industry. I hope that this will not be misunderstood," he said.
Mr Farrugia took over the helm of what was then the enforcement directorate some years ago and first consolidated operations, building up a database of all the areas under their remit, from farmhouses in Gozo to holiday flats in Bugibba. Eighteen months ago, the directorate changed its name although it is still in charge of enforcement, with nine officers covering the whole of Malta and Gozo.
"Some problems were addressed (like dive centres); some have been controlled; but new ones are emerging," he said.
One area that has been controlled, with a drastic reduction in the number of complaints, is timeshare touts. The MTA has been very successful in sorting out problems related to purchasers who change their mind, with the EU currently improving the terms of the cooling-off period.
The other side of the problem is the touts: their behaviour; and their sheer numbers.
"If I get stopped five or six times going down Republic Street (Valletta) by a nun or a priest collecting donations for the missions, I consider it to be harassment because I do not like being stopped so often, even for such a very good cause," Mr Farrugia said.
"We are now working on something to reduce the numbers that I cannot reveal at the moment."
The behaviour of the OPCs has improved, thanks to the fact that two people are now allocated to this sector full time, patrolling places like Qawra, Sliema, the areas around Ghajn Tuffieha, and Mellieha. The marketing companies now have to deposit a bond of Lm1,000 for every person employed as an OPC. As soon as the officer notes an infringement, the fine is deducted (after an appeal procedure) from the bond if the OPC does not pay up. The infringements range from approaching a tourist from inside a car to having a licence that has expired - even by a few days.
"The fines could be Lm500 or Lm1,000. We are often criticised for being overzealous but most of the time we win the appeals.
"The approach puts pressure on the marketing companies to be more careful about who they employ, especially foreigners. It is impossible for us to check them as some of them have very sketchy backgrounds.
"If the OPC does something really unacceptable, we can suspend their licence. We do not permit them to move from one company to another if they have fines pending but we do get the same names cropping up again and again on the infringement list and do refuse to give them licences."
The MTA is able to clamp down because the bond gives it teeth. The same innovative approach has been used to solve the long-standing issue of the concessions at Ghadira. These were previously controlled by the Land Department but recently what Mr Farrugia described as "very decisive action" was taken. The department activated a condition of the contract and terminated all the concessions, offering them a new contract with different conditions. The fee paid to the department was reduced to a nominal amount but a hefty contribution to the MTA was added, which will be used to upgrade the facilities, provide first-aiders and clean the beaches. The most important point was that - like the timeshare marketing companies - they had to submit a bond.
"We basically said: Take it or leave it. There are plenty of others who would take it if you don't want it. And they took it," Mr Farrugia said.
"It is all about changing a culture. These concessionaires have been there for ages without much interference. The lidos took over the beach, covering the whole area with umbrellas and beds before anyone arrived there. It also led to a lot of friction between the operators. There had been many attempts in the past by the Land Department to find a solution."
The kiosks are only allowed to hire out umbrellas and sunbeds to clients. The lidos have a 24.5 square metre concession, defined on a map. Within this area, they can put the umbrellas up when they want; beyond that they can only be put up at the clients' request.
"We put a very tough officer up there who monitors it on a daily basis. It is not easy for him and he is often provoked but if there is an infringement, he notifies us and we have the right to fine them Lm50 a day, deducting the amount from the bond without even giving the bank a reason. And the bond has to be topped up again within a week.
And in this case, they cannot appeal, which may seem a bit harsh," he said.
The success with timeshare touts and at Ghadira shows that some problems can be solved by thinking outside the box. When it comes to so-called bottle shops, however, the situation is far from under control. They are now no longer allowed to sell alcohol after 9 p.m. but there is such a demand that the various outlets in entertainment areas are constantly coming up with ways around the restrictions.
"The present legislation amendments go a long way - but do not solve the problem because any youngster could buy a crate of vodka or beer at five to nine and get drunk.
"And there are now bars selling alcohol not by tot but by the bottle to young people, who usually end up in St George's Bay or on the beach behind the Hilton, and get drunk.
"We are very much aware of the problems associated with youngsters getting drunk, especially underage youngsters. This has very serious social implications," he said.
The MTA identified three bars that had broken the law and passed the cases on to the police. One bar modified his licence so that he could sell in bottles. The second case is still in court, but in the third case, the MTA enforcement officers were physically attacked.
"This is just as serious as an officer from the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) being attacked or a warden being attacked. We referred it to the police..."
Mr Farrugia appreciates that the police are stretched to the limit and he has a dramatic solution.
"Personally I think we need to prohibit drinking alcohol in the streets or in public places in Paceville," he shrugged.
The measure may seem draconian in a country where three generations of families spend entire summer evenings on the beach, for example, but Mr Farrugia believes that the sheer numbers of drunken youngsters, especially in summer, means no one can enjoy themselves.
"Doing nothing is not an option. You either have to clamp down and tighten the rules again and again or do nothing... but then you have anarchy. You'll have teens throwing bottles out of windows, teens throwing bottles at each other, street fights, everything. What has become of the place that we used to call the Golden Mile? Do you still feel safe to go there with your family?"
Of course, many of the youngsters in summer are English-language students and the MTA is bringing together the various stakeholders of this important tourism sector, asking them to come up with workable solutions.
"All the stakeholders should also be involved: the schools, the bars and restaurants, the hotels, tour operators..." he said.
Hotels were only recently put into the picture as schools were forced to lodge students there because of the shortage of host families. The mix of tourists and students has been far from harmonious.
"Hotels cannot rent rooms to unsupervised minors but the issue is wider than that. It is a question of how much the students bother the other guests. Even if they are extremely well-behaved, the fact that you have 30 youngsters in a hotel can cause problems as they come in late and create more noise.
"We and the hotels need to come up with ideas to solve this problem. For example, we are studying what other types of accommodation we can license, such as student residences."
The MTA is also doing what it can to solve the shortage of host families.
"The licence is handled very fast and if a family has hosted language students in the past and had no problem, we'll give the family permission there and then to host students the following year. Secondly, the host family license is the only one which does not have to be renewed every year, so you can do it one year and not the next."
The MTA is also responsible for enforcement of the host families' standards.
"We have concerns because we do not always know what type of family is hosting the students. There's little or no control over what happens inside the home. Of course we are very much aware of complaints and we keep in touch with the language schools, who are also very sensitive to what students are saying.
"If we have a serious suspicion or problem, we revoke the licence. We don't take chances. Students are very vulnerable and they must be protected. I don't need to go into details but if we have a suspicion that a person is abusing a student, we act immediately," he said.
Another aspect of licensing which was recently brought up again by the Malta Union of Tourist Guides, is tours being operated without licensed guides.
The Times went on one of these minivan tours last year, where the driver cheerfully admitted to having to put away his microphone when there was a warden around as he did not have a licence.
Mr Farrugia bristled when accused of doing nothing, pointing out that five cases were taken to court last year after the MTA sent its own undercover staff.
"Are they or are they not breaking the law? The underlying point has to be whether you would be successful if you took him to court. We lost some cases in court but then won on appeal and they were fined Lm500.
"But there are a lot of gray areas and when there are loopholes, the accused benefits in court. We met the guides' union last Friday and talked about what can and should be done," he said.
The point is whether the tourists are being guided. Transferring tourists from the hotel to the ferry and from the ferry to a heritage site is not against the law, he pointed out. The law tells you that there should not be an organised excursion without a guide but a legal notice says that at a heritage site you need to have a "licence".
"This leaves space for interpretation: If you are guiding outside a heritage site, do you need to be a guide? If they leave them at the gate of a heritage site and pick them up there again later, is that allowed?"
There are two other aspects to the issue: protecting tourists from incorrect information - and the fact that not all tourists want or can afford a guided tour.
"There was one famous anecdote about a driver who said Ggantija was a temple built by giants... But the tourists took it with a pinch of salt and thought it was very funny. Should he have been taken to court?
"What if tourists prefer a driver rather than a guide? Should the principle be to ensure that there is no misleading advertising? Clearly, misleading the tourist is unacceptable.
"This is something that has to be consulted with all the stakeholders. Every side has a point. Nowhere in the civilised world do you have tours not accompanied by a guide - although sometimes tourists are given a pre-recorded audio device. Perhaps we need to think outside the box again..." he said.
Another issue has arisen with the pedestrianisation of Valletta and the policy on pavement cafes.
There are three entities involved: the Land Department, Mepa and the MTA. A fast track procedure has been set up but in the end it is down to Mepa to determine whether tables and chairs on the pavement could hinder access to vehicles or pedestrians, for example.
"The MTA not only does not mind tables and chairs on pavements but actually encourages them in pedestriansed areas. We get involved in enforcing the footprint. This is one case where we adopt a pragmatic approach rather than a rigid one.
"If a cafe has a footprint of 10 square metres but one of his clients pushes back his chair so it is outside the footprint, should the local warden pounce on him and fine him? Once you push back the chair, the tables move out and the area gets larger and larger.
"If someone is given a footprint, he should abide by it; there's no two ways about it. But if there are no complaints and no access issues, does it hurt anyone?
"You have to understand that it is a very short season so most outlets try to make hay while the sun shines. We are not just enforcers but we also have to understand and support the industry. You cannot afford to waste time going court just to be able to say that you abiding by the letter of the law."
Don't we all have our own anecdotes of wardens who we think could easily have turned a blind eye when we overtook a karozzin and just crossed a white line?
Frank Farrugia, the head of the Malta Tourism Authority's Regulatory Directorate walks that same line and is well aware of the fact that there is no black and white.
In some areas, like the control of timeshare touts (known as OPCs), the MTA has zero tolerance but in others like tables and chairs on pavements, he thinks that there is more leeway to live and let live - as long as there are no valid reasons to do otherwise.
"It is not a weakness if you are not rigid. The MTA is not just there to enforce but also to support the industry. I hope that this will not be misunderstood," he said.
Mr Farrugia took over the helm of what was then the enforcement directorate some years ago and first consolidated operations, building up a database of all the areas under their remit, from farmhouses in Gozo to holiday flats in Bugibba. Eighteen months ago, the directorate changed its name although it is still in charge of enforcement, with nine officers covering the whole of Malta and Gozo.
"Some problems were addressed (like dive centres); some have been controlled; but new ones are emerging," he said.
One area that has been controlled, with a drastic reduction in the number of complaints, is timeshare touts. The MTA has been very successful in sorting out problems related to purchasers who change their mind, with the EU currently improving the terms of the cooling-off period.
The other side of the problem is the touts: their behaviour; and their sheer numbers.
"If I get stopped five or six times going down Republic Street (Valletta) by a nun or a priest collecting donations for the missions, I consider it to be harassment because I do not like being stopped so often, even for such a very good cause," Mr Farrugia said.
"We are now working on something to reduce the numbers that I cannot reveal at the moment."
The behaviour of the OPCs has improved, thanks to the fact that two people are now allocated to this sector full time, patrolling places like Qawra, Sliema, the areas around Ghajn Tuffieha, and Mellieha. The marketing companies now have to deposit a bond of Lm1,000 for every person employed as an OPC. As soon as the officer notes an infringement, the fine is deducted (after an appeal procedure) from the bond if the OPC does not pay up. The infringements range from approaching a tourist from inside a car to having a licence that has expired - even by a few days.
"The fines could be Lm500 or Lm1,000. We are often criticised for being overzealous but most of the time we win the appeals.
"The approach puts pressure on the marketing companies to be more careful about who they employ, especially foreigners. It is impossible for us to check them as some of them have very sketchy backgrounds.
"If the OPC does something really unacceptable, we can suspend their licence. We do not permit them to move from one company to another if they have fines pending but we do get the same names cropping up again and again on the infringement list and do refuse to give them licences."
The MTA is able to clamp down because the bond gives it teeth. The same innovative approach has been used to solve the long-standing issue of the concessions at Ghadira. These were previously controlled by the Land Department but recently what Mr Farrugia described as "very decisive action" was taken. The department activated a condition of the contract and terminated all the concessions, offering them a new contract with different conditions. The fee paid to the department was reduced to a nominal amount but a hefty contribution to the MTA was added, which will be used to upgrade the facilities, provide first-aiders and clean the beaches. The most important point was that - like the timeshare marketing companies - they had to submit a bond.
"We basically said: Take it or leave it. There are plenty of others who would take it if you don't want it. And they took it," Mr Farrugia said.
"It is all about changing a culture. These concessionaires have been there for ages without much interference. The lidos took over the beach, covering the whole area with umbrellas and beds before anyone arrived there. It also led to a lot of friction between the operators. There had been many attempts in the past by the Land Department to find a solution."
The kiosks are only allowed to hire out umbrellas and sunbeds to clients. The lidos have a 24.5 square metre concession, defined on a map. Within this area, they can put the umbrellas up when they want; beyond that they can only be put up at the clients' request.
"We put a very tough officer up there who monitors it on a daily basis. It is not easy for him and he is often provoked but if there is an infringement, he notifies us and we have the right to fine them Lm50 a day, deducting the amount from the bond without even giving the bank a reason. And the bond has to be topped up again within a week.
And in this case, they cannot appeal, which may seem a bit harsh," he said.
The success with timeshare touts and at Ghadira shows that some problems can be solved by thinking outside the box. When it comes to so-called bottle shops, however, the situation is far from under control. They are now no longer allowed to sell alcohol after 9 p.m. but there is such a demand that the various outlets in entertainment areas are constantly coming up with ways around the restrictions.
"The present legislation amendments go a long way - but do not solve the problem because any youngster could buy a crate of vodka or beer at five to nine and get drunk.
"And there are now bars selling alcohol not by tot but by the bottle to young people, who usually end up in St George's Bay or on the beach behind the Hilton, and get drunk.
"We are very much aware of the problems associated with youngsters getting drunk, especially underage youngsters. This has very serious social implications," he said.
The MTA identified three bars that had broken the law and passed the cases on to the police. One bar modified his licence so that he could sell in bottles. The second case is still in court, but in the third case, the MTA enforcement officers were physically attacked.
"This is just as serious as an officer from the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) being attacked or a warden being attacked. We referred it to the police..."
Mr Farrugia appreciates that the police are stretched to the limit and he has a dramatic solution.
"Personally I think we need to prohibit drinking alcohol in the streets or in public places in Paceville," he shrugged.
The measure may seem draconian in a country where three generations of families spend entire summer evenings on the beach, for example, but Mr Farrugia believes that the sheer numbers of drunken youngsters, especially in summer, means no one can enjoy themselves.
"Doing nothing is not an option. You either have to clamp down and tighten the rules again and again or do nothing... but then you have anarchy. You'll have teens throwing bottles out of windows, teens throwing bottles at each other, street fights, everything. What has become of the place that we used to call the Golden Mile? Do you still feel safe to go there with your family?"
Of course, many of the youngsters in summer are English-language students and the MTA is bringing together the various stakeholders of this important tourism sector, asking them to come up with workable solutions.
"All the stakeholders should also be involved: the schools, the bars and restaurants, the hotels, tour operators..." he said.
Hotels were only recently put into the picture as schools were forced to lodge students there because of the shortage of host families. The mix of tourists and students has been far from harmonious.
"Hotels cannot rent rooms to unsupervised minors but the issue is wider than that. It is a question of how much the students bother the other guests. Even if they are extremely well-behaved, the fact that you have 30 youngsters in a hotel can cause problems as they come in late and create more noise.
"We and the hotels need to come up with ideas to solve this problem. For example, we are studying what other types of accommodation we can license, such as student residences."
The MTA is also doing what it can to solve the shortage of host families.
"The licence is handled very fast and if a family has hosted language students in the past and had no problem, we'll give the family permission there and then to host students the following year. Secondly, the host family license is the only one which does not have to be renewed every year, so you can do it one year and not the next."
The MTA is also responsible for enforcement of the host families' standards.
"We have concerns because we do not always know what type of family is hosting the students. There's little or no control over what happens inside the home. Of course we are very much aware of complaints and we keep in touch with the language schools, who are also very sensitive to what students are saying.
"If we have a serious suspicion or problem, we revoke the licence. We don't take chances. Students are very vulnerable and they must be protected. I don't need to go into details but if we have a suspicion that a person is abusing a student, we act immediately," he said.
Another aspect of licensing which was recently brought up again by the Malta Union of Tourist Guides, is tours being operated without licensed guides.
The Times went on one of these minivan tours last year, where the driver cheerfully admitted to having to put away his microphone when there was a warden around as he did not have a licence.
Mr Farrugia bristled when accused of doing nothing, pointing out that five cases were taken to court last year after the MTA sent its own undercover staff.
"Are they or are they not breaking the law? The underlying point has to be whether you would be successful if you took him to court. We lost some cases in court but then won on appeal and they were fined Lm500.
"But there are a lot of gray areas and when there are loopholes, the accused benefits in court. We met the guides' union last Friday and talked about what can and should be done," he said.
The point is whether the tourists are being guided. Transferring tourists from the hotel to the ferry and from the ferry to a heritage site is not against the law, he pointed out. The law tells you that there should not be an organised excursion without a guide but a legal notice says that at a heritage site you need to have a "licence".
"This leaves space for interpretation: If you are guiding outside a heritage site, do you need to be a guide? If they leave them at the gate of a heritage site and pick them up there again later, is that allowed?"
There are two other aspects to the issue: protecting tourists from incorrect information - and the fact that not all tourists want or can afford a guided tour.
"There was one famous anecdote about a driver who said Ggantija was a temple built by giants... But the tourists took it with a pinch of salt and thought it was very funny. Should he have been taken to court?
"What if tourists prefer a driver rather than a guide? Should the principle be to ensure that there is no misleading advertising? Clearly, misleading the tourist is unacceptable.
"This is something that has to be consulted with all the stakeholders. Every side has a point. Nowhere in the civilised world do you have tours not accompanied by a guide - although sometimes tourists are given a pre-recorded audio device. Perhaps we need to think outside the box again..." he said.
Another issue has arisen with the pedestrianisation of Valletta and the policy on pavement cafes.
There are three entities involved: the Land Department, Mepa and the MTA. A fast track procedure has been set up but in the end it is down to Mepa to determine whether tables and chairs on the pavement could hinder access to vehicles or pedestrians, for example.
"The MTA not only does not mind tables and chairs on pavements but actually encourages them in pedestriansed areas. We get involved in enforcing the footprint. This is one case where we adopt a pragmatic approach rather than a rigid one.
"If a cafe has a footprint of 10 square metres but one of his clients pushes back his chair so it is outside the footprint, should the local warden pounce on him and fine him? Once you push back the chair, the tables move out and the area gets larger and larger.
"If someone is given a footprint, he should abide by it; there's no two ways about it. But if there are no complaints and no access issues, does it hurt anyone?
"You have to understand that it is a very short season so most outlets try to make hay while the sun shines. We are not just enforcers but we also have to understand and support the industry. You cannot afford to waste time going court just to be able to say that you abiding by the letter of the law."