FATTA claims new legal notice was issued without consultation

by Franco Aloisio

The Federation of Associations of Travel and Tourism Agencies (FATTA) yesterday said it was still waiting for the tourism authorities to lower the contribution rates paid by tourism operators to the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA).
Speaking to The Malta Business Weekly, FATTA President Joe Borg Olivier said the travel agencies were unaffected by the changes announced in the new legal notice published by the government on Tuesday.
Mr Borg Olivier said that while the penalty for not paying the contribution in time has been lowered, the increases for the travel agencies were still considerable.
“The quantum of the increase is still very high,” Mr Borg Olivier said.
According to the new regulations, a travel agency which handles 3,000 tourists a year or more has to pay the MTA Lm1,875 per establishment every year, including branches. A smaller operator which handles less than 3,000 tourists a year pays Lm937.50 per establishment, also inclusive of branches.
Any destination management company has to pay Lm687.50 per establishment, while the main office of an organised excursion operator will pay Lm625. Every booking outlet will have to fork out Lm437.50.
According to the new regulations, all of these contributions would be reduced by 20 per cent if they are paid within three months from the issue of the invoice.
Meanwhile, Shadow Minister for Tourism Karmenu Vella said yesterday he will be presenting a new motion in Parliament to cancel the legal notice issued this week.
Mr Vella said that the publication of new regulations confirms that the first regulations were not planned properly. He criticised the new regulations, adding that the changes were merely cosmetic. Mr Vella said the increased MTA contributions will continue adding burdens on the tourism sector. Moreover the new contributions were not drawn up following consultation with all concerned, he said.
The new legal notice confirms
the increases in the majority of the contributions, but has done away with the 50 per cent surcharge levied on the various tourist operators in the eventuality that they do not pay the full amount in time. Instead, the basic contribution has been increased and a 20 per cent reduction is being applied if and when the payment is effected on time.