The Gozo Tourism Association has hit out at a government decision holding the owners of self-catering properties responsible if the number of people there is found to exceed the number of licensed beds.
The decision was announced by the government last month as part of efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 by discouraging parties in properties such as Gozo 'farmhouses' over the Carnival weekend. Owners will be fined €3,000 if they breach COVID overcrowding rules, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo had said.
The association explained that most self-catering operators book their units according to their licensed number of beds, yet they charge per unit per day and not per person.
"It is practically impossible for the operators to police their rented property, thus it is insensitive to fine the operators if their rented accommodation is overcrowded," the association said.