The changes to the public transport service being introduced on Sunday have not addressed the significant problems tourists visiting Malta have been facing ever since the new transport service was introduced, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association said.

In a statement, MHRA President George Micallef expressed concern that the changes being introduced stopped short of addressing the complaints being made by visitors.

"We have not come across any measures that will specifically address the concerns raised by most tourists. We have neither been consulted or received any information that gives us some comfort that things will improve by then, not by Malta Transport and much less by Arriva. We have recently asked Malta Transport to explain to us the planned changes that will lead to an end to the problems, but we have heard nothing," Mr Micallef said.

Mr Micallef said that more than 300,000 visitors had used the new public transport service and the feedback by visitors was very negative.

He said that although the situation did somewhat improve, the service was still nowhere near where it should be, and tourists continued to complain on a regular basis. "Complaints continue to come in.

"Just this very morning, we received complaints from tourists who yesterday had to wait on a bus stop in the main road of St. Paul's Bay to catch a bus to Sliema from 8.15 p.m. and 9.30 p.m. after which they gave up, as all the buses that passed where full. These sorts of complaints are very common" Mr Micallef added.

The MHRA explained that the main problems originated from commuters residing in the main tourist areas of Sliema/St Julians and Bugibba/Qawra, but there were also problems in other frequented areas in the north and south of Malta.

The main reasons cited by commuters using the service appeared to be three - that the bus routes were far too long, that buses were often full, and that the advertised schedules were unreliable.