Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association

This budget focuses measures on lower-income earners and pensioners, which is in line with our pre-budget theme of “Creating Shared Value.”

The MHRA said it was pleased with various positive measures which have been announced in the budget speech which directly support the tourism sector such as: investment to further support the sustainable growth of the cruise-liner business; the commencement of works on the new Institute of Tourism Studies; infrastructural investment including projects related to public parks, various embellishment initiatives and improvement in the road network across a number of localities including Gozo.

The MHRA welcomed the tax credit schemes for renovations on hotels and restaurants aimed at the continued improvement of the tourism product. However, MHRA was expecting specific votes for the immediate upkeep of core tourism areas, such as Buġibba and Qawra, which are in urgent need of serious investment.

The MHRA positively noted that the energy efficiency scheme it proposed for hotels and restaurants will be implemented next year.

The MHRA said it is encouraged by the 2016 deficit estimate which is set to be below 1% and is expected to further improve next year. MHRA is also pleased to note that the national debt as a percentage of the GDP is on the decrease and getting closer to the 60% allowed by Euro zone targets.