Watch: From quiet streets to sleepless nights, Swieqi residents demand change

With banners in hand and tourists wheeling luggage past them, Swieqi residents protested on Sunday to highlight the toll "overtourism" is having on their neighbourhood.

Around 75 people gathered in the town, calling for stronger enforcement, tighter regulation of short-term rentals, and a return to residential peace.

Placards reading “Your 2am house party, our misery” and “Respect residents” captured residents’ frustrations over excessive noise, vandalism, and mounting piles of uncollected waste, all of which is amplified, they say, by a lack of enforcement.

The protest was organised by Momentum chairperson and Swieqi resident Arnold Cassola — acting in his personal capacity and not on behalf of the party — and supported by resident groups from other localities such as Sliema, Valletta and Marsascala.

In a speech sent to the event, former minister and frustrated Swieqi resident Evarist Bartolo warned that the situation is likely to worsen.

“By next summer, tourist apartments in Swieqi will increase by another thousand beds,” he said.

“Swieqi is supposed to be a residential area where people live a peaceful life and where residents’ wellbeing comes first, but now they feel like they’re coming last.”

Bartolo criticised the government for failing to require neighbour approval before granting short-let permits - a plan shot down by Tourism Minister Ian Borg - and said it now had a duty to act “to control noise, dirt, and the breakdown of the community. Or else the law of the jungle will continue to prevail.”

He also said he had asked the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate what he called “administrative failures”.

“How long are we going to keep living only for the moment without thinking of the consequences for today and tomorrow?” he asked.

Carmel Asciak, Momentum's Treasurer, holding a placard saying: We aren't trash, respect us Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

David Fenech, speaking on behalf of the Swieqi Pressure Group, said the town had transformed into a “noisy and dirty” space, overwhelmed by what he described as a free-for-all.

“The noise/ vandalism, rubbish and lack of enforcement that have helped change Swieqi from a quiet, family-friendly residential town to a noisy and dirty almost free-for-all that is overrun, particularly but not only in summer, by particular ‘tourists’ who mostly but not exclusively stay in short lets.”

Fenech criticised the closure of the Swieqi police station, saying residents now had to rely on officers in St Julian’s, who are “already overwhelmed as it is”.

He presented three proposals to tackle the crisis:

1. On-the-spot fines and resources for enforcement: Police should be empowered to issue immediate fines, and the Swieqi police station should be reopened. He also suggested that a portion of fines be redirected to the local council to fund CCTV cameras in known problem areas.
2. Rental regulation and inspections: “Tenants breaking laws are to receive on-the-spot fines. If the landlord is also at fault, there should be substantial fines followed by temporary withholding of the licence of short lets/ long lets/student accommodation who are found to repeat, for example, three times in 12 months.”
3. Improved waste collection: “A better rubbish collection system is required, tackling both the issues related to better collection schedules as well as the sheer lawlessness of many.”

Residents shared personal stories of how overtourism had affected them. Pat, 80, said she was regularly waking up at 3am due to parties next door.

Theresa Sammut Alessi, who has lived in Swieqi for 35 years, said the situation had become “unbearable”, and she now picks up rubbish from the streets herself. “I can’t live at a tip,” she said.

Billy McBee and Anna Maria Baldacchino Phtoo: Matthew Mirabelli

The protest also drew support from other localities grappling with similar issues. Activists from Valletta, Sliema, and Marsascala were present and shared solidarity with Swieqi residents.

Sliema’s Anna Maria Baldacchino said protestors had given up their Sunday morning “because of the laissez-faire attitude of authorities… the lack of accountability of authorities.” 

Billy McBee, a resident of Valletta, said that residents find themselves in this situation "because the state refuses to address the root cause. Instead of fixing what is broken, it turns its face away, closes its ears because for the Government, these conditions have become the norm.” 

Cassola urged the public to sign a parliamentary petition demanding urgent action on noise, waste, and misuse of tourist rentals. The petition is open until October 5.

He thanked the resident associations that took part and commended Swieqi mayor Noel Muscat, as well as councillors who support the protest’s aims. But he also acknowledged political pressure on some officials.

“It’s a pity they could not attend because of their party’s orders,” he said.

It emerged on Friday that Nationalist Party councillors had been instructed to stay away. One PN councillor reportedly removed a video endorsing the protest, due to its affiliation with Partit Momentum.

A PN spokesperson did not respond to questions about the directive but said the party had “spent years” raising concerns in Swieqi.

Malta welcomed just over one million tourists in the first four months of 2025, surpassing what were record figures in 2024 by more than 17 per cent, according to the National Statistics Office.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the protest was organised by Momentum.