The Gozo Tourism Association and Gozo Business Chamber have welcomed the Budget measures for the island but expressed concern on the increased licence fees for swimming pools.

The measures constituted an investment in the infrastructure and in human resources, the association said.

The Budget was emphasising the connectivity issue with the allocation of €100,000 for the related environmental, economic and social impact studies on a green airfield on Gozo, it added. The employment schemes will encourage Gozitan businesses to retain their full-time employees during the winter months.

Overall, the association said it was a realistic and objective budget that acknowledged Gozo’s tourism needs, while addressing them with specific measures.

Meanwhile, the chamber said it was a continuation of the previous budget without any shocks to the economy while trying to make work pay by controlling abuse of social services. “It is a budget which is very much pro-business by trying to reduce bureaucracy and increase more fair competition. The only disappointment the chamber has is in the increase in the fees for licences for swimming pools and in the tax on the price of cement.”