The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) is satisfied with the 'Tourism Recovery Plan' as announced by the Clayton Bartolo, Minister of Tourism and Consumer Protection, following extensive consultation with its members.

MHRA President Tony Zahra said that, "this has been a catastrophic year for everyone in our industry, but we do believe that tourism can, and will, recover from this pandemic. Recent news about the results being marked from restrictive public measures and efforts to inoculate Malta's population to control the spread of Covid-19 cases is really positive and gives us hope for tourism recovery in 2021."

MHRA believes that as international travel begins to restart, keeping Malta front and centre in consumers' minds will be critical. Every destination across the globe has experienced the impact of Covid and will be seeking their share of the recovery. "Now is the right time for Malta to punch through the noise and create an immediate desire to visit. Flexibility, above all, will be key."

MHRA appeals to everyone to continue being responsible so that numbers are kept constant and accordingly the health system can continue to give the best possible care for those who contract the virus.

From an economic perspective these results are also important for the tourism sector which currently is struggling. Zahra asserts that, "the sooner we manage to control the COVID-19 spread, the sooner we can relaunch our businesses, which cannot afford to remain closed for the sake of their investors, employees and patrons."

In this context, MHRA also commends the efforts by Government in presenting a €20 million investment aid package which will be provided to different stakeholders and distributed through different aid-packages, whilst also extending a series of measures aimed to improve business liquidity and accordingly encourage the retention of employees.