Gozo tourism operators lament ‘embarrassing’ weekend power cuts

Power cuts which impacted the island of Gozo this past weekend were described by tourism operators as embarrassing for the country and damaging.

Gozo faced widespread power cuts on Friday, which were caused by two separate faults affecting underground cables. Some areas spent more than 24 hours without power.

BusinessNow.mt spoke to tourism operators in Gozo to discuss the situation.

Diane Falzon, owner of il-Kartell restaurant in Marsalforn, described the situation as “disastrous and embarrassing.”

“This is happening in 2026. Tourists were asking what was happening as this was an extraordinary situation for them. It affects Malta’s image.”

She said that they had many clients who came from Malta for the weekend with their family who also suffered in the heat.

“Thankfully we have a generator, but the air conditioners do not operate on it, and it was impossible for the diners who were seated inside to remain, so they left and we didn’t charge them.”

The restaurant lost bookings as a result of the power outage, said Ms Falzon, with 50 covers being cancelled due to the lack of power for the air conditioning.

But she explains that the issue in Marsalforn is bigger than that, arguing that throughout the year they struggle with energy supply instability.

Another restaurant in Marsalforn, Arzella, also faced certain issues.

Arzella owner Christian Grech said that for a time on Friday part of Marsalforn had power, and part did not. His restaurant’s power went out at 11pm that night.

He said he inquired as to when energy would return, and was told that generators were expected to be placed at substations by 6pm on Saturday, a day on which the restaurant had 80 bookings. Mr Grech said that 6pm arrived, and power returned, but only briefly, and that apparently engineers said the cables were burning and that bigger ones had to be brought from Qormi. He said he had to close the restaurant, and lost those 80 bookings.

“It’s like were in the 90s. To lose a Saturday, at the end of the month when wages are due, is a loss of a lot of funds.” He said he also had to throw away food as a result of the power cuts.

Another restaurant owner told this newsroom that he estimates he lost tens of thousands of euros.

Christopher Pace, owner of Al Sale in Xagħra, said that not only did he lose covers, but air conditioners and fridges were damaged as a result of electricity fluctuations. “We had 150 people booked for Saturday alone, in addition to the food we had to throw away.”

He said that they had been experiencing electricity issues all week. “They need to solve the power issues,” he said.

“The problems are enormous. They need to sort it out,” he said, adding that the authorities should pay for the loss caused.

This newsroom also contacted the Kempinski Hotel owners. Janice Baldacchino, Director and owner of the Baldacchino Group, said that the hotel has a generator which worked, and thus operations were not impacted, however spoke about the impact such situations have on Malta’s aim to attract good tourists.

The problem, she said, is that “we are being reactive rather than proactive,” noting that power issues affect both islands. “It’s not an issue we don’t know about. Every permit issued provides information regarding energy load, so we are meant to know what’s needed.”