The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) has called on the government to intervene with an emergency hospitality support package that reflects the current extraordinary situation.

It also called for a plan to ensure that life and business operations can continue, despite the virus.

In a statement issued just after new measures were announced by Health Minister Chris Fearne, the association said the festive season was the one chance the sector had to recoup some of the losses suffered earlier in the year.

“But we’re now in a situation of great uncertainty.”  

The loss of income over this period is about surviving the winter months, it said.

The hospitality sector, the association said, had over the past two years been the main target and victim of pandemic-related control measures, and now that it was trying to keep its head above water, it was again in limbo.

Although members were being allowed to be open, the authorities were telling people to cut back on going out. 

This was destroying businesses and many communities across the country that relied heavily on tourism at a time when they are already struggling, with events cancelled and occupancy levels at near all-time lows, it said.

It said many hospitality businesses have been working to reconfigure and establish their operations into very safe environments, in line with existing protocols. The impact of any additional restrictive measures needed to be taken into consideration.

Once safety protocols are in place what needed to be done was rigorous enforcement while allowing businesses to continue to trade.

MHRA said it acknowledged there are no easy solutions and was willing to engage with the government on a plan for the economic survival of many thousands engaged in the hospitality industry.