is that tourists don ’ t only come to Malta to stay in hotels ; but they come for other attractions and experiences too ,” he explained .
“ We have seen an increase in those who also look out for holidays in special accommodation ; in villas , farmhouses and apartments ,” he said . “ And we have also noted that some form of exchange accommodation is beginning to show up . This is obviously all good for the economy . These new trends will happen and continue to develop irrespective of any Government , as the world moves along doing things as it wishes . What we are after is not to stop trends but to regularise those who service them , so as to be aware of what is happening in the marketplace , and to remain in control of the product and the level of quality that is being given ,” he said .
This is the kind of enforcement that is being envisaged , “ not one that will introduce controls on everything that goes beyond collective establishments ,” he explained .
When one looks at the inbound travel / tour agencies , one generally looks at the seriousness and reputation of the operator with whom one does business . Here there are difficulties to enforce especially because of the large amount of business that happens directly on-line . In that area there is little that one can do .
What we are after is not to stop trends but to regularise those who service them , so as to ... remain in control of the product and the level of quality that is being given
An insolvency fund is being established in order to better protect the traveller .
If on the other hand one were to look inward , at the situation from the local outbound agencies ; licence holders with the Malta Tourism Authority , “ I can tell you that as a result of a very recent breakthrough agreement with FATTA ( an association representing local tour operators ), we will be able to set up a much needed insolvency fund to protect travellers who have booked outbound package travel .
This follows the introduction of the fund “ on paper ” through a 2009 legislation which was never implemented so far . This agreement will now give Maltese travellers the necessary protection and guarantees that if an operator goes into liquidation , their holiday-invested monies will be safeguarded . Dr Zammit Lewis added that in fact a solvency fund of Eur500,000 has now been set up for this very scope ; to create a long-term solution for bona fide travellers . This will be on the same lines of those funds that other EU citizens in other member states already enjoy .
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