Tourism stakeholders should not expect any great policy shake-ups with the Government eager to facilitate rather than impose, Tourism Minister Karmenu Vella said this morning.

Mr Vella told members of the Malta Hotel and Restaurant Association council that with many good policy plans already in place and tourist numbers healthy, there was “no need to reinvent the wheel”.

“Positive arrival numbers mean that we can dedicate more time to improving our tourism product,” the minister said, adding that accessibility had become “practically more important than marketing” within the sector.

MHRA president Tony Zahra highlighted three key requests stakeholders were pushing for: more arrivals during shoulder and winter months, reduced utility rates and reverting to a five per cent VAT rate for hotels. VAT was raised to seven per cent in 2010.

Mr Vella assured MHRA members that he would not be unilaterally imposing measures on stakeholders.

“We want the Government to act as a facilitator – those of you who have invested millions in this sector, and they are all Maltese, are unlikely to give bad advice,” he said.

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