Hotels and restaurants welcomed news of a COVID-19 ‘exit roadmap’ in the coming week, hopeful the worst was behind them.

The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) was reacting to Health Minister Chris Fearne’s announcement that the first phase of a plan to relax COVID-19 restrictions would be unveiled next week. 

“Over the course of the past two years there have been numerous false starts and deep disappointment as we returned to various lockdowns, but there is a strong belief this time is different,” MHRA President Tony Zahra stated.

A survey this week showed 14 per cent of the restaurants were considering temporarily shutting down after the introduction of the mandatory vaccination for entry to bars and restaurants. Half were reducing operations, also struggling with lack of staff.

Zahra pointed out the tourism and hospitality industry could not return to rolling lockdowns so Government must engage with the sector about solutions to re-establish operations in a sustainable manner as soon as possible.

He also underlined there would be no easy road to recovery. Hotels and restaurants would still continue to face various challenges during the return to normality, making ongoing support imperative. 

As for the future, he said they would continue working towards ensuring the sector would never have to endure the hardship they had experienced these last two years.

But he hoped the worst was behind them, he said.

“We are now breathing a sigh of relief as Government is recognizing the need to relieve the hospitality sector from restrictions in the shortest time possible."