Gozo’s ‘quiet and idyllic’ reputation under threat from ‘incessant construction’

The Gozo Tourism Association (GTA) is calling on the authorities to extend a ban on demolition and excavation during the summer to cover any location within 50 metres of any licensed holiday accommodation on the island.

“Tourists come to Gozo to experience a quiet and idyllic holiday [that is] not marred by incessant noises of heavy machinery from early morning till late in the afternoon,” it said in a statement released on Tuesday (today).

The ‘summer break time’ prohibiting demolition and excavation runs from 15th June to 30th September and covers Malta’s primary tourist zones.

However, the GTA said that over the past weeks, “different Gozitan tourism operators had to endure amongst others, all the imaginable inconveniences brought about by construction activity being carried out next to their respective accommodation establishments.

It acknowledged that these works were being carried out on sites situated in streets and localities that are not listed in the summer break time regulations.

But the organisation added: “the present reality is that the whole of Gozo has become a touristic area, and not only the handful of streets in certain localities that are highlighted in the summer break time directive.”

Therefore, “it is high time that the summer break time subsidiary legislation is revisited and revised, especially where Gozo is concerned.”

The GTA is thus calling on the competent authorities to amend the summer break time directive to ensure that no excavation and demolition works are carried out within 50 metres radius of an MTA licensed premises.

“This directive should cover all Gozo and not just a few selected and limited number of streets on the Island,” said the organisation.

“Gozo’s tourism cannot afford to lose what was the backbone of the island’s distinctiveness, and thus its touristic offering.”