Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi has insisted that the authorities will step up enforcement on deckchair and umbrella operations at public beaches.
Asked by The Malta Independent about the ongoing abuse of public beaches by deckchair and umbrella operators, Mizzi acknowledged the problem and said: “the first step we took this summer was to ensure that everyone follows the law.”
On social media and websites such as Trip Advisor, the issue of deckchairs and umbrellas has been a recurring problem, lambasted by tourists who pointed out that beaches such as Mellieha and Comino were completely over-crowded by deckchairs and umbrellas, which are also excessively over-priced.
When asked about what fines and penalties are in place, Mizzi replied: “there are fines and we have also started closing down operators and removing deckchairs and umbrellas from public beaches. This week we had two major operations but essentially, following last week’s intervention of closing down of an establishment, the operators have started to regularise themselves, which is a positive development. We will, of course, continue to monitor the situation throughout and where there is a breach we will enforce these regulations.”
Mizzi added: “I think generally people have welcomed the enforcement initiatives from the past few weeks and if anyone sees any abuses we want them to flag them to us.”
On the subject of Ghadira Bay, the Minister said that this was a different situation due to a contract issue and the concession agreements that were signed in 2012. “In Mellieha we need to address the situation very differently we need to sit down the concessionaires and possibly even renegotiate the contracts. Plus the beach is eroding and we need to assess whether we can extend the beach to see if we can create more space.”
“Essentially there are some encroachment orders, contracts and concessions that private operators have in place. In 2012 the government had signed 15-year concessions for deckchair operators of significant sizes. They obviously now have contractual rights and we want to make sure that they operate in accordance with the law. So if you don't have a concession you can't operate. Where there is a clear breach of regulations and laws and that person doesn't have the right to operate, we are clearly enforcing.”
Mizzi said the situation in Comino was the same. “There are three operators who had a three-year concession for which they had to pay a fee. We sat down with them and tried to come up with a solution. Furthermore there is a concession agreement which is meant to run out soon and the new conditions for a new concession will be very different,” Mizzi explained.
“For example the operators had the right to put deckchairs on the sand and now, as you can see, they cannot and they can only put deckchairs at the back of the beach. This was a voluntary move by the operators because we pressed them very hard on the matter and it this will hopefully not be brought back in some future concessions.”
When asked about the issues of caravans illegally occupying public land, the Minister said: “Whenever there are these issues we immediately flag them up to the police. The situation cannot be a free-for-all. The same thing happened with camps and tents on beaches. When we removed the deckchairs from Armier the beach was invaded by tents. We removed these too and the situation now is much better.”
MTA response
The Malta Tourism Authority said the regulations pertaining to the placing of sunbeds and umbrellas on beaches are governed by the Planning Authority in terms of Class 15 – Beach Management Facilities of Legal Notice 211 of 2016.
A ‘no objection’ from the Malta Tourism Authority is requested in terms of this Legal Notice, only when the beach is managed by the Malta Tourism Authority, such as Għadira Bay. In addition, a permit specifying the designated area granted for the placing of sunbeds and umbrellas is also requested from the Land Authority. Therefore, the regulations and conditions are determined by the Land Authority and Planning Authority.”