Busuttil: Malta still enjoying fruits of PN labours

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil told reporters that the PN was proud of having laid the foundations of Malta’s tourism industry and expressed his commitment to work closely with the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association to discuss how to improve cooperation, as well as how to tackle new challenges emerging in this evolving market.

In comments before a private meeting with the MHRA council, he said Malta is “still enjoying the fruits of PN’s labours” and expressed his full support for positive government policies in this sector.

The PN has tabled over 70 proposals on how to allocate EU funding for the tourism sector, with particular emphasis on infrastructure as, “in the past 18 months, the government has not given importance to infrastructure and had not utilised a cent of EU funds”.

Busuttil expressed his hopes that the ongoing Air Malta restructuring continues successfully, noting that this process was also begun by the previous administration. “This is the last chance for Air Malta – if this government is unsuccessful with restructuring, the EU will not allow it further assistance”.

On behalf of the MHRA, the association's president Matthew Pace said its vision was to keep Malta a “unique and interesting” destination and expressed his satisfaction at the record tourist arrivals for the past five years. Admitting that there are “challenges aplenty”, he underlined the importance that Air Malta remain a locally owned company as well as outlining his vision for the continued development and economic contribution of the Maltese tourism industry.