Government must pursue its efforts to get Malta back to `Green’ status – MHRA

The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association has said that the Maltese tourism industry needs a “joint effort” to fight Covid-19.

MHRA appealed to the Government to “align its Covid-19 policy direction to the number of infected patients recovering in hospital rather than those being infected not needing hospitalisation.”

It stressed that, “the Government must pursue its efforts to reduce the number of infected people in order to get back the `Green’ status as soon as possible.”

The Association was reacting to Malta once again being put on the EU’s red travel list ^[1] by the ECDC after the spike in the number of positive cases in recent weeks.

Despite the need of PCR test before entry to a destination is granted unvaccinated travellers still pose a risk of spreading Covid-19, the MHRA said. While local health authorities have confirmed that the majority of the recent new infected cases are unvaccinated individuals.

MHRA President Tony Zahra stated that “Malta’s task now is to complete the vaccination drive to get every resident in Malta protected.”

He said that, “the situation however still remains complex, and any miscommunication or U-turns leave a significant negative impact both on the image of the Maltese islands as a destination of choice for tourists, and on the bottom line of hotel and restaurant operations.”

The MHRA therefore appealed to the Government to “work closer with stakeholders to face a common challenge which is leaving unprecedented damages to the economy and well-being of the people.”

MHRA referred to the labour shortage in the hospitality industry and called upon the Government to exempt tax on overtime and part time revenues earned by employees working in the tourism, travel and hospitality sector.

“We need to do all that is needed to attract and retain employees working in the tourism industry even during such difficult times, as if we get this wrong then the repercussions can be serious,” it said.

The MHRA stressed, “we live in very difficult and uncertain times and now is the time when all our efforts must be jointly focused on sustainable solutions.”

The MHRA concluded by saying that, “we need simple and clear protocols which safeguard public health but also which reflect the needs of the economy. It’s important to remember that the economy is all of us and that tourism is the heart that pumps the economic blood.”

Photo by Alain Salvary