The MHRA today strongly condemned, without reserve, the action taken by public transport service providers and said categorically that this type of action causes untold damage to the image of Malta as a tourism destination and to Product Malta as a whole.
The MHRA further stated that action which negatively affects Malta International Airport and other key tourist destinations such as our capital city leave a very bad image in the minds of visitors to our Island.
Throughout the day the MHRA and its members worked tirelessly to ensure that visitors arriving at MIA were able to get to their respective hotels without any issue and despite efforts of a small number of taxi drivers the MHRA together with officials from MIA and the MTA ensured that any inconvenience was kept to a minimum.
The MHRA further stated that public transport operators, most especially taxi drivers and bus drivers, should appreciate that a substantial part of their livelihood is derived from tourists visiting our island. Taxis located outside key hotels on the Island amount to over 10% of the licensed taxis locally. The MHRA would not hesitate to issue directives to these said hotels to terminate agreements with these taxis if they persist in not providing the necessary service to their guests. Ultimately their service can easily be replaced by call outs to chauffeur driven cars.
The MHRA fully backs the action by the transport Ministry to liberalise transport services locally. As members of the EU and in the year 2008 monopolies should be unheard of and protectionism should be abolished fully. The MHRA further encourages government to take action against any individual who persists in causing damage to the tourism industry and reminds everyone that such actions negatively affect the livelihood of 40,000 individuals directly and many more thousands who depend on the industry indirectly on a daily basis.
The MHRA concludes by stating that while these issues should be resolved around a table through sensible discussion the government should hold firm on its resolution to liberalise this sector once and for all.