This year’s carnival will not be the same, not even for the hospitality sector, Gozo Tourism Association (GTA) CEO Joe Muscat said.

This comes after The Malta Independent received reports that not many bookings are being made in Gozo for the carnival period. It also confirms what the GTA anticipated back in mid-January; a stark decrease in accommodation bookings for this year’s carnival is expected.

“It seems that this year’s carnival weekend will not be the same. We did not see the same influx of bookings that we normally do,” Muscat said.

“Accommodation owners in Gozo are not doing well.”

Asked whether they have any estimate yet as to the difference when compared to last year Muscat replied that they don’t have that information yet.

“We do not have an estimate yet in terms of the percentage decrease, but it is definitely off the levels we usually see during the carnival period.”

Muscat also noted that measures announced by the Government in late-January took a great toll on the amount of people booking accommodation in Gozo, with cancellations due to the measures also taking place.  

Many measures have been put in place in order to prevent a spike in virus number over carnival and to avoid a repeat of the situation that arose after the Christmas period.

Among the measures in place are: all mass events related to carnival have been cancelled; restaurants must close by 11pm; the closure of bars and clubs was extended to the end of February; temperature checks will be taken on all Gozo channel vessels between 11 and 17 February; passengers going onto the Gozo Channel vessels must remain in their vehicles for the duration of the trip; Gozo Channel vessels are running at half capacity; LESA officials are onboard the vessels to enforce social distancing and mask wearing; added patrols in Rabat (Gozo), Nadur, Marsalforn, and Xlendi, while Transport Malta will also be patrolling other localities and; the Malta Tourism Authority inspecting rented accommodation to make sure that they adhere to the parameters set out in their licenses, especially with regard to the number of people inside.