No sunbeds will be allowed on the sandy beach at the Blue Lagoon in Comino while their number on the quay will be reduced, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo announced on Monday.

Activists from the pressure group Graffiti on Saturday held a protest at the popular bay in Comino, removing rental deckchairs which, they complained, made it impossible for people who did not want to rent any from staying there.

Questioned on his way to parliament, the tourism minister Bartolo said matters at the Blue Lagoon had already improved. He said the sandy area would henceforth be totally accessible to people and rental sunbeds and umbrellas would no longer be placed there. There would also be a substantial reduction in the number of sunbeds and umbrellas that can be put up on the quay, and they won’t be set up from the morning.

Graffitti had complained that the rental sunbeds were set up and occupied all the space even before the first visitors arrived.

“In this way," the minister said, "we can assure that people can lay out their towels and stay there if they want to, but at the same time, the substantial number of visitors who ask to rent sunbeds will be catered for.”

Capping of visitors

Asked if the number of visitors at the Blue Lagoon would be capped, as Graffitti had suggested, Bartolo said that is being considered as part of a long-term management plan for Comino.

 “At this stage, I'm neither going to commit myself nor the committee that is going to be doing this work, I don’t think that’s fair as there are studies that still need to be carried out,” he continued.

“In order to achieve sustainability, we need to see how best to manage not only the Blue Lagoon but Comino as a whole, that is our long-term plan as a government.”

MTA officials at Comino on same day as Graffitti

The minister added that while it was not in his competence to monitor enforcement, but talks with the relevant authorities were ongoing to ensure that there was adequate law enforcement in Comino, he said. 

“It just so happened that Graffitti went there on the same day that MTA officials were going to be there to make sure that this issue is addressed,” Bartolo said. 

“The agreement that there is with the operators has always been the same,” he continued. 

“The issue is always that one must keep monitoring and supervising the situation and that is what we will be doing regularly, our goal is to keep increasing monitoring.”

“As we’re seeing the tourism sector recover, as these issues crop up, we don’t want to sweep matters under the rug, but turn them into opportunities, if need be.”