Eco-tax should only be used for embellishment projects, says MHRA

The Malta Hotel and Restaurants Association (MHRA) has stated that a proposed 50c ‘bed-night’ eco-tax for tourists should only be used on embellishment projects.

In a statement released this afternoon, the association lauded the implementation of the tax, describing it as the culmination of their campaign for the improvement of Malta's tourism offering.

“Government introduced the eco contribution during the last budget,” the statement reads “and following intense discussions between MHRA and Government the following principles were agreed to;

1. The contribution must be paid by all stakeholders offering accommodation to tourists, and this to ensure a level playing field in the market.

2. Government must ensure that the regulations in place covering the provision of accommodation to tourists are enforced.

3. The contribution must be paid by all tourists whilst ensuring that the contribution itself will not hinder the growth potential of the tourism sector. To avoid hitting families or the student market, MHRA and Government agreed that only tourists over the age 18 years will pay such contribution;

4. All the money collected through the contribution will be ring-fenced into a fund and administered through a structure co-led with MHRA to spearhead product embellishment projects across tourism zones.

5. The method of collection will be the least bureaucratic and burdensome possible.”

As of 1st June, MHRA, which represents the majority of hotels which will be collecting this contribution, will be “closely following the implementation process to ensure that the established principles are adhered to.”

“MHRA is now focused on the need to upgrade and maintain the external infrastructures and to ensure this is achieved in the most cost effective and efficient manner, ” the association said, warning that this role “will not divest the responsibility of other public agencies from doing their part and investing in the tourism product.”

The group stressed the importance of starting to look at Malta and Gozo as a singular tourism product that needs to be taken care of, if the industry is to be sustainable. Pointing to the positive economic results being achieved through the tourism sector, cited as demonstrating that the Maltese tourism product is doing well, it said a closer analysis reveals that “to maintain and improve upon this success urgent action needs to be taken to reinvent the way external infrastructures are managed and maintained.”