Minister for Tourism Clayton Bartolo, has stated that “in the coming days”, his Ministry – through the Malta Film Commission – shall publish how much British comedian David Walliams was paid to host the Malta Film Awards back in 2022, as instructed by the Civil Court of Appeal at the end of this January.

Over the coming days, Bartolo’s Ministry shall also be revealing the total cost of the Mediterrane Film Festival, he said.

A court at the end of January rejected an appeal filed by the Malta Film Commission to deny the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation access to information regarding payments made to an entertainer for the 2022 Malta Film Awards.

The case concerned a freedom of information request to obtain the amount of public money paid to David Walliams for participating in the 2022 Malta Film Awards. In the freedom of information request, the Malta Film Commission had been asked for all invoices it received from Walliams, or his agents or associated companies or individuals, or on their behalf, in connection with the event.

The Film Awards came under the spotlight for its glitz and glamour, with suggestions that the event had gone far over its budget – a budget which was already more than what the Malta Film Commission gives out to local filmmakers in grants.

Meanwhile, Bartolo was also asked to comment about Chris Cardona recently saying that he does not rule out a return to politics, Bartolo said that “one must discuss and see what the outcome may be later in the future” and added that he is focused on his own responsibilities pertaining to tourism and is ready to respond to questions on this subject. 

Referring to the upcoming touristic period, Minister Bartolo stated that his Ministry’s first priority at the moment is the skills card for workers within the tourism sector.

Bartolo noted that his Ministry has “practically finished” evaluating all suggestions and feedback received through its public consultation phase. The next developments on this shall be announced in the coming weeks once the current consultation phase comes to an end.

“This is going to be a big step forward in improving the quality of our tourism,” he said.

Bartolo also highlighted the importance of connectivity within the sector, calling it “the lifeline of the tourism industry in our country.” The skills pass, connectivity, and making local tourism infrastructure “more adequate” with present times are the main factors that will spur a better touristic period than what was observed in previous years, Bartolo stated.

On connectivity, Bartolo said that his Ministry is committed to promoting greater diversification within the sector when it comes to the influx to incoming tourists as well as the airlines functioning in and out of Malta. He described that this “greater diversification” of airlines references low-cost carriers, legacy carriers, and other sub-categories.