ADPD- The Green Party recently pulled off a coup, persuading Local Council of Saint Paul’s Bay to approve of a motion proposing to divert the proceeds of the Tourist Eco-Tax to the Local Council. Sandra Gauci who proposed the motion says that local councils with localities that are impacted by tourism should have the funds to address this impact. She is also proposing an increase of the tax from its current rate at €0.5 per day and to remove the €5 capping. The motion will now have to be discussed by the government, namely, the Ministry for Local Government and Minister Owen Bonnici.
ADPD is currently echoing residents’ concerns that over-tourism is hurting their localities. A protest by Arnold Cassola’s party, Momentum, also took place in Swieqi over the weekend against the impact of and unruliness of tourists in the locality. Momentum is also petitioning Parliament to introduce stricter fines for unruly tourists and
Over-tourism is currently a major issue in Malta with residents of various localities protesting against its impacts and the projects aimed for this industry. Valletta’s residents also protested against the government’s rules allowing music in the locality until 4 AM. Another ongoing issue regarding over-tourism is the debacle over Comino.
The government has also admitted that the current economic model of mass tourism is putting strain on the infrastructure and the local communities and also admits it needs to transition towards quality tourism. Small political parties like ADPD and Momentum are taking the lead in advocating for citizens’ concerns about over-tourism and its impacts.
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