The Ministry for Infrastructure, Transport and Communications has said that the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association cannot have in all seriousness considered the facts about the pricing for tourists in the reformed public transport service starting next July, when it stated that these prices ‘send the signal that tourists are for fleecing’.
A tourist visiting Malta after next July will be charged a total of €12 for 7-days of unlimited travel anywhere in Malta, including the transfer to and from the airport. For the airport transfer alone services today already charge tourists more than €12 which means that when using half hourly services from the airport to all tourist destinations on the island in buses equipped for luggage space (which can be loaded for free) 7-days a week from 5.30am to 11pm, tourists will be paying less than they do today for their transfer and get unlimited free travel during their holiday to boot, The Ministry said.
At that rate it is not likely that tourists will feel fleeced at all. In spite of the fact that they will be treated to a high quality, air-conditioned service throughout the island they will be paying for transport during their stay in Malta less than they spend at their own home town and less than they would have spent in any tourist destination competing with Malta, the Ministry went on to say.
"Just because residents of Malta will be able to travel for less, it is not likely that tourists will feel that a €12 weekly ticket (or €2.60 for a day ticket) for unlimited transportation will amount to a rip off by any stretch of the definition of that term."
The Ministry commented that the €12 price for the 7 day tickets is less than what was provided for in the tender (€14) which was then reduced during negotiations. In meetings organised by the MHRA itself for hoteliers and restaurateurs during the tender process, the weekly price of €14 was deemed by all MHRA members present as perfectly reasonable and value for money for tourists. Now that the final cost to tourists will be less than was previously announced (rather than more), MHRA is making hysterical comments about "blows" to the industry.
For clarity – and to avoid the confusion which the MHRA tries to make – the discount for residents of Malta does not discriminate against people who are not nationals of Malta and is therefore perfectly compatible with EU law, the Ministry said.
The Ministry concluded, "much as an adult does not complain for paying more than a child when boarding a bus, a non-resident should not be expected to complain for paying more than a resident if the price charged to that non-resident is reasonable value for money. Being offered what is most likely the most competitive price for transport offered to tourists anywhere will be foremost on the minds of our visitors come next July. What will also be relevant, and what the MHRA has remarkably felt to comment about, is that the quality of the service offered to tourists (and therefore the quality of the tourism product at large) will be massively improved when the reformed service is rolled out."