Shops that reopened their doors nearly a fortnight ago after the COVID-19 shutdown are relieved to see business picking up, but some have expressed concern over the repercussions of a potentially delayed tourism season.

“We have received positive feedback from retail outlets, especially with an event such as Mother’s Day, as businesses saw an increase in shoppers this week,” the CEO of the Malta Chamber of SMEs, Abigail Mamo, told Times of Malta.

Non-essential shops, including hairdressers, lifted their shutters on April 26, after seven weeks of shutdown, as part of Malta’s COVID-19 reopening strategy plan.

Mamo said that while a number of retail outlets and businesses reported a busy two weeks, others were still seeing very little business.

Strong brands and shopping malls have been the busiest, while smaller shops are still a bit slow, but unfortunately this is becoming a normal trend as the majority of shoppers resort to bigger shops or shopping malls in areas like Sliema or Mosta, she said.

“During these two weeks, people had an excuse to go out and shop. People were initially excited to go back to the shops after weeks of closure, while the second week coincided with Mother’s Day. I am still receiving a lot of feedback that businesses need a stronger level of consumption and some are concerned that business will not pick up.

“Businesses want to put their minds at rest. Every week owners are constantly worried about what will happen the following weeks, whether business will remain stable,” she said.

People walking in Valletta’s Republic Street yesterday morning.

Devoid of tourists, Valletta continues to suffer

Valletta, especially, continues to see very little business, even though there was more commercial activity because of Mother’s Day.

“Owners are hoping that with the reopening of restaurants and coffee shops, Valletta businesses will be given a booster in sales.”

Restaurants and snack bars will reopen tomorrow, but they will have a 5pm curfew for the time being.

The fact that Malta failed to make it to UK’s initial travel green list, despite the low COVID-19 numbers, will also have a direct impact on Valletta.

While the list is updated every three weeks, Mamo said it is now a crucial time as tourists begin to plan and book holidays for the summer months.

“We are all shocked by this news, and apart from impacting Valletta, this will impact all of Malta. Of course, Valletta will be affected by the delay in tourists, and so will many other tourist-dependent businesses. That is why we must now really focus on the domestic market.”

With this in mind, she said the government’s announcement of a timeline to ease restrictions helped businesses not only to draw up a plan for the next few weeks but also helped the overall morale. Mamo highlighted that both retail outlets and catering establishments are now calling for the distribution of COVID-19 vouchers.

“We are still in discussions with the government but it’s very important that we do not go beyond May to announce and launch the vouchers. We now depend more on the domestic market.”

Minister for Enterprise Miriam Dalli said the government will announce further details in the coming days.