The travel and tourism association has called on the government and the Malta Tourism Authority to confirm that the Insolvency Fund will not cover prior insolvencies.

FATTA urged the authorities to deny press reports that customers who suffered losses from the bankruptcy of Fantasy Tours will be compensated by the recently launched Insolvency Fund.

The Legal Notice setting up the fund clearly states that the fund will only cover bookings made from the date of publication of the Legal Notice, the association said in a statement. 

The fund, which will be guaranteed by travel agencies licensed to sell package tours, is not intended to compensate for the shortcomings of the regulator and government in implementing the European Commission directive protecting consumers from insolvency of package operators.

The burden of any compensation that might be due for past failures must solely be borne by the government and the regulator themselves and should not be passed on to legitimate operators and ultimately and indirectly to the consumer.

"FATTA reiterates that the cost of contributing to and maintaining the insolvency fund will ultimately be carried by the consumer and is committed to ensure such costs are kept to the bare minimum for the benefit of the consumer. FATTA will therefore strongly resist any attempt by the MTA to load any unjustified or illegitimate cost burden on the fund."

FATTA also called on the MTA to "get its act together" to update its database and regularly publish an updated list of operators licensed to sell travel packages.