Shoppers made a cautious return to Valletta in the run up to Christmas after protests and political unrest disrupted regular business activity in the capital.
Though foot traffic increased on the streets of the capital, business owners fear the last-minute resurgence might not be enough to recuperate losses.
And, while the civil unrest may have temporarily died down, businesses were plunged into the dark due to a nationwide power cut.
Business owners said they had hoped the foot traffic would increase as the calendar drew closer to Christmas Day, but the hours-long power outage on Monday meant many had to shut shop.
Times of Malta has reported that some business owners close to the Parliament building said they had seen a drastic drop in revenue after having to close their doors much earlier on days when demonstrations were taking place.
Seventeen protests were held in Valletta since November 21, as revelations about the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder probe led to political turmoil and civil unrest. Some businesses reported that, since protests tapered off, sales started to pick up again.
Michael Camenzuli, of Vigo Clothing, told Times of Malta the previous two Sundays had seen business pick up.
“Things have improved and we’re back to our normal rhythm. Last Sunday, we were swarming with people,” he said.
Mr Camenzuli said that shoppers were vocal about their concerns, saying that protests had made them nervous, particularly if that family happened to have young children.
“What we lost we won’t get back,” Mr Camenzuli said.
“But we won’t make any more losses. We’ll just be ordering less stock.”
Mr Camenzuli said that while protests had kept families away from what could have been a typical Valletta outing, he felt the media had overemphasised the scale of the demonstrations.
“Honestly, it was a little overblown. The media focused too much on the noise that was happening,” he said.
Danilo, an employee at the cosmetic shop, Roseberry, said things had visibly picked up from the previous Sunday.
“That was the first day we saw a change for the better. People brought their children and it felt like Christmas for the first time.”
Our best customers are tourists. If we didn’t have a constant influx of cruise ship tourists, I would have to close up shop
However, not all were quite reaping the benefits of the restored stability on the streets of the capital.
The proprietor of a clothes shop, who preferred not to be named, said his establishment had been feeling the pinch for some time.
“Business has been bad since the beginning of summer. Yes, these past few weeks, of course, people weren’t coming because of demonstrations. But there are other reasons as well,” he said.
“People have more choice and they’re going to other places. Some of my customers also tell me that public transport isn’t always reliable, so they pick places closer to home. Our best customers are tourists. If we didn’t have a constant influx of cruise ship tourists, I would have to close up shop.
“But these past weeks have been difficult. I’ve been in the business for 55 years and I’ve never experienced a Christmas like this, a complete nosedive. There were more people in Valletta these past two weeks, yes, but the sales aren’t corresponding. It’s too little, too late,” he added.
An employee at an electronics shop said that business had definitely been affected at the outlet but had picked up again at a promising pace.
“Overall, this won’t impact us as much. Because of Black Friday, especially, that moves a lot of electronics and we consider it to be our make or break day. I would have told you the same thing if you asked me last year,” he said.
He did acknowledge, however, that business was affected, “especially when demonstrations took place on main roads and during regular opening hours. I can understand the circumstances in which people chose to stay away from Valletta.
“It has improved, however, especially after they put up the Ferris wheel next to the Triton foundation.”
In it’s December newsletter, the Malta Chamber of SME’s said that “uncertainty and instability is killing Maltese business”.
In a survey with business owners held amid the political turmoil, the GRTU found that 65 per cent of respondents across Malta said that business had gone done, 15 per cent of whom reported a drop in sales exceeding 50 per cent.
“Business sales have plummeted and this has happened everywhere, not just in Valletta,” the GRTU said.
As a result, 46 per cent of responding businesses said they would be reconsidering, postponing or cancelling their investment plans for next year while 28 per cent said they had not made investment plans and 26 per cent said they would be carrying on as planned.
“The figures paint a very worrying picture,” the GRTU said.
“Our message is not targeted at protestors but at those in power who continue to drag their feet. This is the instability that you have caused,” it remarked.