Unlicensed self-catering holiday accommodation in Gozo is being scrutinised by the Government and the issue will be addressed in the upcoming Budget, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said yesterday.
Gozitan hoteliers have long complained that most of such accommodation is unregistered and, therefore, not taxed, unlike other registered holidaying spots.
The issue was raised during a pre-Budget working breakfast in San Lawrenz yesterday by Gozo Tourism Association chief executive officer, Joe Muscat.
Mr Fenech agreed with the need for “a more equitable licensing system” and said the Government intended addressing the issue imminently.
He also dropped hints about two other Gozo-related schemes that the Government planned to introduce as part of the impending national Budget.
One scheme would incentivise Gozitan businesses to invest in renewable energy sources and the second would entice more mainland Maltese to cross over to Gozo.
The minister did not provide any further details on either scheme.
Accessibility issues were at the fore of most attendees ’ concerns, with talk of land, sea and air links bandied about. Mr Fenech acknowledged the economic benefits that an undersea tunnel would bring Gozo and said that feasibility studies had now passed the preliminary stage.
He was slightly less enthusiastic about a request for Gozo’s airstrip to be opened to small passenger planes, linking Malta International Airport to Gozo. Environmental concerns would play a big part in such a decision, Mr Fenech said.
Lawyer and entrepreneur Joe Ellis suggested a catamaran service running between Gozo and Valletta’s Grand Harbour. Mr Fenech confessed it was the first time he had ever heard of the idea.
Having called for better regulation of self-catering accommodation, Mr Muscat also suggested the Government “help” Gozo Channel in much the same way it had encouraged low-cost airlines.
“Gozo Channel is to Gozitans what Air Malta is to the nation,” Mr Muscat said. “Low-cost airlines have benefited the country but they’ve also eaten away at the number of Maltese holidaying in Gozo.”
In reply, Mr Fenech referred to the soon-to-be announced scheme aimed at drawing Maltese to Gozo and noted that Malta’s sister island could benefit from a “more colourful and varied ” events calendar in the winter months.
Statistics show that unemployment in Gozo fell by 13 per cent since 2009. Tourist arrivals were up by 3.6 per cent this year. Investment schemes, such as MicroInvest, have also been heavily subscribed by Gozitan entrepreneurs.
Magro Brothers Ltd chairman John Magro urged the minister to delve deeper into the numbers. “We may be progressing but not at the same pace as Malta. And that means that we are falling further behind,” Mr Magro argued.
There was some debate – and disagreement – over government efforts to lure investors to Gozo. According to Dr Ellis, Malta Enterprise often treated Gozo as a last resort, showing investors industrial estates in Malta first.
Mr Fenech refuted this. The agency, he said, did its utmost to encourage Gozo-based investment, to the point of offering financial incentives for doing so.
Victoria mayor Samuel Azzopardi said prospective iGaming investors were reluct-ant to base themselves in Gozo because of internet connectivity concerns.
But the minister disagreed, saying iGaming companies were often unwilling to cross over to Gozo not because of connectivity concerns but rather because employees “expect to be based in or around entertainment hotspots such as Sliema or St Julian’s”.