Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1523891
3 gozotoday | FRIDAY • 12 JULY 2024 NEWS GozoToday is a weekly newspaper focused primarily on Gozo. It hopes to serve as a source of information on business, culture, entertainment and of course current affairs. Gozo has a special charm about it but it is also a bustling Island with an identity of its own. We will strive to bring you the news over the next three months. At this stage we are planning to take advantage of the influx of local and foreign visitors to this marvellous Mediterranean Island. But we could be tempted to continue with this newspaper project beyond the Summer months. A big thank you for the support from the Ministry for Gozo. GozoToday will be published every Friday and is available to numerous outlets in Gozo and on the ferries that carry so many visitors to Gozo from Malta and beyond. gozotoday GozoToday, MediaToday Co. Ltd, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 EDITOR: PAUL COCKS Tel: (356) 21 382741-3, 21 382745-6 Website: www.maltatoday.com.mt E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt MINISTERU GĦAL GĦAWDEX U LIPPJANAR GozoToday is published by MediaToday in collaboration with the Ministry for Gozo and Planning CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Government sources confirmed that this will be a top priority after the Santa Marija break. Gozo has 9,709 beds available all year, but 77% (7,502) are actually self-catering accommodation. If Zahra is right, this could mean that over 7,000 beds in Gozo are not licensed with the MTA. But Zahra believes that in Gozo alone, around 50% of all private rental units, as advertised on booking platforms like AirBnB or Booking.com, are not registered with the local authorities. "This means that these unregistered units do not pay license fees and do not pay VAT," he told GozoToday. "When you quantify it, this unfair competition gives them a 35% to 40% advantage over licensed units." Zahra said that while most hotels in Gozo were managing to mostly fill their beds, the higher market sector was struggling a little bit, when compared to last year. Around 17 hotels in Gozo offer a total of 1,494 beds, whilst 28 guesthouses and hostels add 713 beds for a total of 2,502 serviced accommodation beds. Zahra said three- and four-star hotels are there- fore registering a better occupancy rate than five-star hotels, leading to speculation that more visitors in that segment are switching to private home rentals. "The problem is that it is now relatively easy to regulate this market, but I see no political will to do so," Zahra said. Online booking platforms are obliged under Eu- ropean law to provide all pertinent booking data to local authorities when requested. If they were to do this, local authorities could easily cross- check the booking data to their database of reg- istered and licensed units to determine who is in breach of the law. Even a quick spot-check on any booking plat- form could help identify perpetrators. "Private home and apartment rentals are not a threat to the hotel industry," Zahra said. "It is the unfair competition that unlicensed operators enjoy and abuse that is worrying." He said that tourists visiting Gozo are on the rise and private rentals are simply one sector of the market that makes the island attractive. 77% of 9,709 beds available in Gozo all year are actually self-catering accommodation Government signs Local Plan Review documentation for Hondoq ir-Rummien MHRA president Tony Zahra THE Minister for Gozo and Planning, Clint Camilleri, an- nounced that the final docu- mentation for the Local Plan Review for Ħondoq ir-Rum- mien has been signed. Documentation will be pre- sented to the Parliamentary Committee for final approval in the coming days. Present for the signing was Qala mayor Paul Buttigieg, who has been a long-time campaigner for the area to re- main undeveloped. Buttigieg said this was the "dream of many", stating the area will continue to be en- joyed by the public. Camilleri said after the consultation process, during which many individuals and organisations participated, the Government proceeded to the next step by declaring this site a Special Conserva- tion Area. "This is the highest level of protection and environmental safeguarding offered by our country's environmental laws. The Government is legally and officially recognising the natu- ral importance of this area by protecting a location rich in biodiversity with many differ- ent habitats, such as garrigue, as well as protected species, such as the carob and mature olive trees," Minister Camill- eri said. Camilleri also recalled how in recent months, many other areas in Malta and Gozo have either been given the highest level of environmental protec- tion or had their local plans changed to protect these sites. Among these are the Qortin ta' Isopu in Nadur, Ġebla tal- Ħnejja and Ġebla tal-Fessej in Gozo, as well as a plot of land in Ħal Far, which was intend- ed for industrial development and has now been amended to serve as a buffer zone for a much larger area classified as a Natura 2000 site. Gozo minister Clint Camilleri (left) signing the documentation as Qala mayor Paul Buttigieg looks on