Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis said the new Malta Tourism Authority board would be appointed this week.

The term of the previous board expired a month ago and the matter had been raised in Parliament by Opposition MP Robert Arrigo who described the situation as “unacceptable”.

When asked when the new board would be set up, Dr Zammit Lewis replied “this week”. However, he pointed out, the MTA continued functioning as could be seen with “Isle of MTV, which took place last week”.

The board is made up of 11 voting members and the chief executive officer, who does not have a vote. One is nominated by the hoteliers’ association, one by Air Malta, another is chosen by travel agents and six by the minister.

Another two members are recommended by associations from sectors representing travel and tourism services.

Dr Zammit Lewis would not confirm whether the present chairman, former Labour MP Gavin Gulia, had been reconfirmed in his office.

“The board will be announced this week,” he said.

When asked to comment on talk within the industry that CEO Josef Formosa Gauci would be succeeded by Paul Bugeja, the president of the Malta Hoteliers and Restaurants Association, Dr Zammit Lewis said: “There is nothing on those lines at the moment. There are no such plans at this present point in time.”