A 'blow' to Gozo tourism industry

The absence of baggage trolley services on Gozo Channel ferries was having a negative impact on Gozo's tourism, the Gozo Tourism Association (GTA) said yesterday.

The association said the tourist season on the island had picked up late this year and industrial action resulting in a lack of baggage services was further complicating the situation.

The GTA said a long suspension of the service between November 2003 and May 2004 had already created problems because Gozo Channel had taken such a long time to solve the matter. "During this period, much damage was done to the tourism industry in Gozo," the association said.

"Unfortunately, this situation has cropped up again recently during the peak summer season. The present action is going to deal the final blow to the tourist industry," it said, adding that that such a blow to the industry had been "deliberate".

"The Gozo Tourism Association asks the minister responsible for Gozo Channel if these are the quality services he announced when he raised the Gozo Channel fares back in April 2004," the association said.