Wardens in Gozo have been criticised by the Gozo Tourism Association and the Gozo Business Chamber for the way they issued traffic fines in Victoria yesterday, the busiest day for tourism on the sister island.

The two organisations said they were ‘all out' for law and order and supported decisions taken in this regard.

However, they said, they did not agree  with the way traffic contravention fines were issued yesterday, especially in Victoria.

"It is a known fact that the Gozitan capital lacks enough parking spaces to cater for the needs of the community. Therefore more common sense was expected from the local wardens on the busiest day of the year, when the island was hosting such an additional number of guests with their vehicles. In the prevailing circumstances, it is expected that the local wardens should have adapted a preventive approach rather than resorting to the issuing of fines. The lack of parking spaces in Victoria should not be borne by the visiting guests to Gozo,” they said.

The two organisations thanked Gozo Channel for its service and said the high number of visitors was the result of ongoing promotion campaigns in Malta and abroad.These results are the fruit of a sustained and continued promotional campaign to market Gozo both with the local and foreign markets.

They said they were concerned, however, that these efforts could easily be marred by 'irrational decisions'.