The Malta Tourism Authority has suffered a budget cut for the first time in a decade, in a move believed to be part of the government’s attempt to trim the fat in government spending.

MTA had been one of the biggest winners throughout most of the budgets held over the past decade, seeing its allocation rise from just €28.5m in 2014 to €119.5m in 2023, a staggering 320% increase.  However, the authority had its wings clipped for the first time in a decade this year, with the government cutting its allocation for 2024 by €9.5m.

This is the first time since Labour’s election in 2013 that the government did not increase the authority’s allocation.

MTA’s budget even increased during the pandemic period, when the industry slowed to a crawl, with its allocation rising by €10m between 2020 and 2021.

Insiders told Times of Malta that the authority was seen as a prime culprit in the government’s overspending, with the government believing that it can operate efficiently with a leaner budget.

MTA has long been accused of financial mismanagement, having overspent its budget by almost €20m in 2021 and finding itself singled out in a review of government expenditure during that year.

Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo waved off concerns about the overspend at the time, describing it as “an investment”.

This investment showed little sign of letting up, with the latest budget figures showing that the authority went on to overspend its budget by €14m the very next year.

Data shows that the tourism industry recovered remarkably well following the slowdown caused by the pandemic, with almost 2.3 million tourists visiting Malta last year.

This year’s figures are set to climb even further. NSO data shows that the number of tourists visiting Malta in both July and August was almost 20% higher than the same month last year.

Figures for the springtime were even higher, with the number of visitors between April and June having grown by over a third this year compared to last.

Similarly, a study by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association shows that a staggering 840,000 people visited Malta in the second quarter of this year, even more than in 2019.