The interests of the tourist lobby “should not be considered superior to the general interests of all Maltese residents,” the Transport Ministry has said after being accused of indifference to the impact that higher bus fares for non-residents might have on tourism.
The charge was levelled by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, which described the ministry as insensitive to a sector that was already anticipating a blow from higher VAT rates next year.
“Malta will be the first country in the EU to have different prices for tourists and for locals. The MHRA was certainly never consulted on this and would have protested in the strongest manner had it been,” the association said.
The government, in turn, accused the MHRA of “advocating higher fees for Malta residents”. The new system, it said, already catered for tourists, the only difference between the two sides relating to the difference in fares between residents and non-residents.
It defended the differentiated fare system as being “well tried and tested in Malta” which had given “excellent results”. The price of a seven-day ticket for non-residents, at €12, still offered excellent value, it added.
The exchanges were the latest in a series between the association and the ministry, which on Saturday announced that holders of Maltese ID cards would pay lower fares than non-Maltese ID card holders when the new transport system is launched in July. For ID card holders, a day ticket will cost €1.50 and a seven-day ticket €6.50 while the rest would pay €2.60 and €12 for the same tickets.
The MHRA had earlier this week accused the government of institutionalising the fleecing of tourists but the government had defended the fares by saying they would be the cheapest in Europe for a good quality service. It also accused the MHRA of reacting hysterically, pointing out it had not objected to a proposed weekly bus rate of €14.
The association replied it was not objecting to the price itself but, rather, to the apparent discrimination between residents and non-residents.
To this the government had insisted that the higher rates for tourists and non-residents was the result of a discount being given to residents and did not violate EU discrimination laws.