The Tourism Police scheme will get rolling next year, Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis told Parlia-ment yesterday.

Deputising for Home Affairs Minister Emanuel Mallia in answering a PQ by Nationalist MP Ċensu Galea, he said that in the meantime regular meetings were being held between the Ministry of Tourism and the police corps on operational details, the selection of officials and the curriculum to be followed by police officers chosen for the scheme.

Dr Zammit Lewis said Malta would be divided into tourism zones for the south, the centre and the north.

Besides helping to enforce the laws, tourism police would be required to speak more languages, be well informed about touristic sites in their respective areas and generally provide more help to tourists, even those coming from countries other than Malta’s traditional source markets.

Answering Carm Mifsud Bonnici (PN), he said the plans involved more than just the return of a police inspector at Marsascala. There would even be Malta Tourism Authority personnel to inform and otherwise help tourists, in a location still to be decided.

In answer to Carmelo Abela (PL), Dr Zammit Lewis said that even before the start of the Tourism Police scheme, certain areas were being earmarked for a stronger police presence at all times of the day and night.

On a question by Mario de Marco (PN), he said one of the zones envisaged would be Sliema, St Julian’s and Paceville, which were popular throughout the year but much more so in summer.

SmartCity, too, featured prominently in the government’s plans in view of the expected influx of visitors in summer.