The Tourism Police scheme will get rolling next year, Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis told Parliament this evening.
Deputising for Home Affairs Minister Emanuel Mallia in answering a question by Nationalist MP Ċensu Galea, he said that in the meantime regular meetings were being held between the Ministry of Tourism and the police corps on operational details, the selection of officers and the curriculum to be followed by police officers chosen for the scheme.
Dr Zammit Lewis said Malta would be divided into tourism zones for the south, the centre and the north. Besides helping to enforce the laws, tourism police would be required to speak more languages, be well informed about tourist sites in their respective areas and be able to help even tourists coming from markets other than what were known as the traditional tourism source markets.
In answer to Carmelo Abela (PL), Dr Zammit Lewis said that even before the start of the Tourism Police scheme, certain areas and times were being earmarked for a stronger police presence at all times of the day and night.
On a question by Mario de Marco (PN), he said one of the zones envisaged would include Sliema, St Julian’s and Paceville, which were popular throughout the year but much more so in summer.
SmartCity, too, featured prominently in the government’s plans in view of the expected influx of visitors in summer.