Tourism sectors criticise Gozo ferry fares rise

The tourism trade section of the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise and FATTA - the Federation of Association of Travel Tourism Agents - have jointly hit out at the increase in the Gozo/Malta ferry fares.

The two bodies called on the authorities to review the position rationally and with commercial sensitivity with a view to enabling operators to honour their contractual obligations without having to absorb the additional burden of this sudden increase in costs.

The unilateral imposition of a 14 per cent increase in the regular fare for crossing on Gozo Channel services was the latest of a series of government-induced blows to tourism operators, they said in a joint statement.

They were disappointed to note that yet again the authorities were showing their lack of commercial understanding of the tourism process.

Tourism operators have long been trying to get the message through to the various authorities that the nature of the tourism industry required that contracting was completed in advance of the actual provision of services and this lead time could be up to 18 months.

Operators have made repeated requests to the authorities that any changes in tariffs or taxes that may have a direct effect on tourism pricing should be announced 12 - 18 months prior to coming into effect. This would enable the operators to adjust their contract rates accordingly.

But, they added, these requests had fallen on deaf ears and the authorities continued to bulldoze over the very same industry to which they paid so much lip service.

The Gozo Channel announcement followed the increases of three percentage point rise in VAT on tourism services and the increase of 75 per cent in entrance fees to government-owned museums.

These increases were implemented without enough lead-time for tourism operators to include in their contracted rates. This resulted in operators having to absorb the costs themselves at their own expense.