The Gozo Tourism Association has also responded to the financial measures announced by the Government yesterday evening.

In a statement the GTA said that although the package of €1.8 billion “sounds quite generous, effectively the Government will be forking out much less than announced.”

It acknowledged that some measures “will help in mitigating the difficulties being encountered by the tourism sector.” However the GTA said that if was expecting more assistance to a sector “which presently, and up to an unknown future, has and will not have any income whatsoever.”

This, it said, is due to the closure of basically all the catering and accommodation establishments through the legal notice issued this week and the closure of Malta International Airport in order to combat the spread of Covid-19.

The Gozo Tourism Association, on the €1.6 billion being allocated to the deferral of vat, tax, social contributions and the bank guarantees, said that these measures will “assist the tourism sector to a certain extent,” however, it was looking for “more substantial measures to safeguard the retention of the employees within the tourism establishments.”

The GTA stressed that the Gozitan economy depends “majorly on tourism,” and in the Covid-19 serious scenario, the Association said it is calling on the Government for “more bold and drastic measures that will have an immediate effect and support for the Gozitan tourism establishments.”

The Gozo Tourism Association concluded by acknowledging that the announced measures, although sound positive, need to be “beefed up” by the Government “to really effect the negative impact on the tourism sector, and especially on the island of Gozo.”

Photo by Alain Salvary

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