Some 170 traffic tickets were issued by wardens in Gozo during the Santa Marija weekend, a relatively small number considering the sister isle hosted some 20,000 extra vehicles during the popular public holiday.

Figures supplied by the Local Enforcement System Agency, responsible for overseeing the warden service, show that Gozo’s population tripled between August 13 and 14, with some 70,000 Maltese spending the weekend there.

Despite this influx, only 67 fines were issued on Saturday, with a further 103 handed out on Sunday, the agency said.

The agency was contacted by this newspaper following complaints that wardens had been heavy handed: dishing out “too many” fines on Gozo during Santa Marija.

The Gozo Tourism Association and the Gozo Business Chamber had hit out at the way fines were issued, particularly in the capital Victoria, saying wardens were putting a damper on “the busiest day for tourism” on the sister island.

In a joint statement, the two organisations had said they were “all out” for law and order and supported decisions taken in this regard.

Wardens were putting a damper on the busiest day for tourism

However, they said, wardens should keep limited infrastructure and “common sense” in mind.

“It is a known fact that the Gozitan capital lacks enough parking spaces to cater for the needs of the community. Therefore more common sense was expected from the local wardens on the busiest day of the year, when the island was hosting such an additional number of guests with their vehicles,” they had said.

In the prevailing circumstances, local wardens were expected to adopt a preventive approach rather than resorting to the issuing of fines, the organisations had said.

“The lack of parking spaces in Victoria should not be borne by the visiting guests to Gozo,” they said.

Meanwhile, the state warden agency told the Times of Malta that the main contraventions included double and triple parking which obstructed traffic and could not be ignored. A number of haphazard manoeuvres had also been flagged, along with motorists who took to driving with no number plates, several breaches of one-way signs and a lack of seatbelt use, all of which had be penalised.

On their part the two Gozitan organisations had thanked Gozo Channel for its service and said the high number of visitors was the result of ongoing promotion campaigns in Malta and abroad.

They said they were concerned, however, that these efforts could easily be marred by “irrational decisions”.

Asked to react, the government agency said it was willing to hold discussions with all stakeholders involved with the aim of improving the system.