The UK’s decision to boot Malta off its safe travel list has dealt an “immediate” and “substantial” blow to the country’s crucial tourism industry, according to travel agents dealing with a wave of cancellations.
From 4am today, anyone arriving from Malta will have to quarantine for 14 days after the UK joined Italy and 11 other European countries to slap restrictions on arrivals from the island.
The UK is Malta’s largest market for tourism, which accounts for almost a third of GDP when the wider effects of the sector are included.
Iain Tonna, Federated Association of Travel and Tourism Agents (FATTA) president, said the UK government’s decision has “made things worse” for an industry already struggling to cope. He said agents started receiving cancellation requests soon after the UK government’s decision was official.
“By morning, agents had already start receiving cancellations. Some were even set to travel here in the coming days but in light of the latest advice, they have changed their minds,” Tonna said.
Though he acknowledged that most agents had accepted that this summer would be slower in terms of people coming to the island – with arrivals from the UK already down 90.9 per cent in July from last year – the growing number of countries adding restrictions to Malta travel was being felt.
Yesterday, afternoon Belgium became the latest country to place restrictions on travellers from Malta.
“We were expecting the occupancy and numbers to be lower than the past but with the current situation and more countries booting us off safe travel lists, the numbers will again be impacted substantially.
“Some had expected to at least recover a fraction of their costs. Now this [the UK’s decision] throws them steps back,” Tonna said.
Outgoing trips by locals have also been affected, he said, since people were more wary of booking trips abroad in case more countries introduce restrictions. Many had already opted to cancel trips they had planned for the coming weeks.
Tourism Minister Julia Farrugia Portelli is yet to comment on the crisis hitting the industry.
Farrugia Portelli, who had appeared on British media last month to assure tourists that the island was a safe destination and that protocols were in place, has not made any public comments for days. Questions Times of Malta sent via e-mail to the minister and her staff were not answered.
The minister last gave comments to the press on July 30 when she told reporters a balance needed to be struck between health precautions and the economy.
Contacted yesterday after a series of questions sent on Thursday remained unanswered, the president of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, Tony Zahra, declined to comment. He once again asked for questions to be sent via email.
When Times of Malta pointed out questions had already been sent, Zahra simply said: “We also have a CEO. Send questions via email.”
In the space of weeks, Malta went from having the lowest number of active cases in Europe to having among the highest numbers, with many linked to large parties, a religious feast and nightclubs.
Gozo tourism body hits out
The Gozo Tourism Association yesterday criticised the speed at which the island dropped its coronavirus protection measures at the start of last month, as flights reopened to tourists.
“The approach at the beginning may have been gradual, but we ran the last part and it was too fast,” Joe Muscat, the association’s CEO, said.
He said that he believed the “crux” was permitting mass events, adding that the decision to stop them was a step in the right direction, but “maybe it came too late”.
Gozo’s tourism sector, he said, was never greedy and cautiously followed health protocols.
Belgium bans Malta travel
Belgium has banned travel to and from Malta with the exception of repatriation and cargo.
The country had earlier announced that “increased vigilance” was needed for those travelling to and from Malta.
All flights to and from the country, bar repatriation and cargo, have now been banned. It described Malta, Spain and Romania as “risky” countries. Several other countries have marked Malta as an unsafe destination, imposing quarantine, obligatory testing and other restrictions on arrivals.
All passengers from Malta arriving in Italy must either present a negative coronavirus test, taken 72 hours before departure, or do the test within 48 hours and quarantine until the result is out.
Other countries do not yet require tests from those coming back from Malta but travellers must self-isolate for 14 days.
Malta was also removed from England’s safe travel corridor list introducing quarantine rules for returning travellers.