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Karl Schembri
Labour leader Alfred Sant yesterday unveiled his party’s plans to revive tourism, promising to lower VAT on restaurants and encouraging more low budget hotels to bring larger quantities of tourists who will also have a subsidised helicopter service to Gozo.
Speaking in the middle of a deserted Bugibba square next to a malfunctioning fountain under the drizzling rain and flanked by tourism spokesman Evarist Bartolo, Sant said that subsidising the helicopter service was high among his party’s priorities.
He defined it as “a public service” even though it is meant as a tourist luxury.
“It is a service that can safeguard jobs in Gozo and create others,” he said. “It’s better than paying social benefits, so it’s a public service that should be subsidised.”
Bartolo elaborated: “It’s cheaper to travel from the UK to Spain than from Malta to Gozo. We need to subsidise the service to get tourists to Gozo.”
Sant said tourism was almost in a crisis.
“If it’s not a crisis, there are big problems,” he said, turning to Bartolo to ask him whether he defined it as a crisis.
“There’s definitely a crisis in Gozo,” Bartolo replied.
The tourism spokesman criticised the government for failing to negotiate a lower VAT rate for restaurants. “Government says VAT is at par with the EU average rate, but nobody goes to eat at the average EU restaurant,” Bartolo said. “People are going to Cyprus, Spain and Hungary.”
But when asked how he will lower the VAT rate short of an EU derogation, the Labour leader limited himself to saying that there will be changes to the law in accordance with EU conditions.
In Labour’s report about tourism revival that will be presented for vote at the general conference later this week, the party speaks of boosting further low-budget hotels to attract more tourists, claiming that this would help four and five star hotels charge at first class rates instead of the current trend of lowering prices.
However the Opposition is against a moratorium on yet more five star hotels.
“This is not the time for moratoriums,” Bartolo said. “Tourism is effectively a mortuary right now, hotels are closing down. We need to bring more and more tourists.”
And clubbers will not find much of a haven here under a Labour government.
“It is not one of the sectors we looked into,” Sant said when asked about rebranding Malta.
“We’re good boys,” Bartolo jokingly said.
kschembri@mediatoday.com.mt
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