Gentlemen’s clubs will be regulated and a holidaymaker insolvency fund will be established as part of a legislative reform in the tourism sector that would lead to increased efficiency, Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis said this morning.

Addressing a news conference launching a public consultation process on the reform, Dr Zammit Lewis said these clubs will now be licensed and regulated as “late night establishments”.

He told the Times of Malta that this does not mean that lap dancing inside these clubs will no longer be permitted.

On the holidaymaker insolvency fund, Dr Zammit Lewis explained that operators in the sector will contribute to the fund.

The fund will be administered by a management board, which will also check up on the financial soundness of operators in the sector.

He said the fund was supposed to have been set up in 2002 but was brushed under the carpet.

The tourism minister also announced a crackdown on illegal accommodation offered by private individuals.

“We want to license such accommodation in order to safeguard Malta’s tourism product. Individuals offering such accommodation need to be put on a level playing field with other regulated operators,” Dr Zammit Lewis said.

He said these private operators will be regulated as offering bed and breakfast accommodation with a maximum capacity of 16 people.

Dr Zammit Lewis said the tourism sector legislative reforms are needed to not just update laws but look at a completely new legal basis which would be more efficient, less bureaucratic and able to facilitate the operations in the sector to accommodate the developments taking place.

The minister said that last year he appointed a committee which had been working on the reform for the past 11 months consulting various public entities, sector representatives and the ministry.

Comments about the proposed reform, which can be read in the pdf link below, should be sent to legalreform.mta@visitmalta.com .