4.38pm Updated with Tourism Ministry statement
A new “tourism tax” should be postponed until after the busy summer period, tourism spokesman Antoine Borg said today.
Addressing a press conference an hour before tourism industry leaders meet for a conference on the sector’s performance, Dr Borg said the new 50c nightly eco levy should be postponed until operators developed systems to properly collect and manage it.
Announced in the last Budget, the levy was originally meant to come into effect last month but was put on hold after no agreement was reached with operators, particularly with the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, on how its collection should be managed.
The tax will increase tourists' costs by 50c for every night they spent in Malta, up to a maximum of €5 per stay.
Dr Borg said the levy was due to come into effect next month but several hoteliers were still struggling to find a way to introduce the fee without footing the cost themselves.
“This has created an uneven playing field where larger hotels can handle this new financial contribution, but some smaller ones cannot,” he said.
Dr Borg, who was joined by St Paul’s Bay Mayor Graziella Galea, said the Nationalist Party agreed with financial contributions from the tourism sector on principle, but urged the government to hold wider consultations.
“We have spoken to industry players who have not been consulted at all. It simply isn’t acceptable for a government to introduce something like this without adequate consultation,” he said.
You won't stop us, says Tourism Minister
In a statement, the Tourism Ministry wondered whether the PN's complaints about the tax meant it also opposed the embellishment projects the contributions would be used to finance.
It noted that the previous government, led by the PN, had decided to introduce this tax back in 2010. It had also increased VAT on accommodation from 5 per cent to 7 per cent, the Ministry said.
The statement went on to say that Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis had made it clear that he wasn't going to allow any operator to stop this tax from coming into effect.
Tourism was generating a great deal of income for the country, the ministry said, and it would take a collective effort to ensure Malta had the necessary infrastructure to keep up with the sector's progress.
Anyone with questions about the tax was welcome to contact the ministry by emailing environmentalcontribution@gov.mt or calling 22915038, the statement added.