‘Inexcusable’ power cuts ‘very bad marketing’ for Product Malta, say tourism and hospitality associations

Peak summer in Malta is fast becoming synonymous with widespread blackouts with alarming regularity, as yet another season is being marred with power cuts stretching the length of the islands.

On Tuesday, as DJ Snake, RAYE and Nelly Furtado dazzled the Isle of MTV audience in Floriana and Tom Jones defied his age at Ta’ Qali, thousands of residents were left fuming – if not outright melting – with lengthy power cuts in a number of localities, including St Julian’s, Attard, San Ġwann, Mellieħa, and the entirety of Gozo.

Enemalta was forced to respond to criticism, revealing that a fire had developed at one of the cables supplying Gozo, where the power cut extended for as long as five hours.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday (today) afternoon, Mellieħa residents are once again reporting that they have no electricity, indicating that the problem is set to extend beyond a one-time fault.

BusinessNow.mt reached out to some of the country’s leading tourism representatives to get their views on how such power cuts impact Malta’s tourism product.

Gozo Tourism Association CEO Joe Muscat notes that the five-hour power outage experienced on Tuesday “simply hindered the operation of the majority of the tourism establishments on the island.”

He says that the most affected establishments were “those catering outlets and small accommodation units that are not equipped as yet with generator.”

In a diplomatic response, Mr Muscat says that “whilst understanding that faults, maintenance and other accidental issues occur and interrupt the power supply, the electricity distribution infrastructure should be upgraded to handle the present load and demand, whilst offering alternative distribution until the necessary repairs are carried out.”

He also points out that for several establishments Tuesday’s outage was the second in two consecutive days.

The Association of Catering Establishments’ president Michelle Muscat says the organisation received many reports of lost business, both in stock ruined and thrown away and in the sense that they were simply unable to operate.

She says that when patrons in the middle of a meal are thrown into darkness, it not only “ruins the experience for the diner,” but also often leaves the establishment out of pocket: “The diners would many times have no cash and leave with an unpaid bill. Half of these bills are not recovered.”

Frequent power cuts can also damage electrical appliances, and in the case of aquariums full of live seafood like lobsters that depend on mechanical aeration, the loss of power also means that an entire batch will be killed and have to be discarded.

“It is very sad that in 2024 electricity power cuts still happen,” says Ms Muscat. ”Although we understand that accidents happen, and we appreciate the government subsidy, we are left with huge losses.”

She continues: “Unfortunately this is not seen in a good light by our tourists. It is very bad marketing for our tourism industry, of which catering establishments are a huge pillar.”

Ultimately, “no Government strategy for tourism can work if the other key components to make such strategy are not functioning well,” she says.

“Electricity is a fundamental component of any strategy to ensure more tourists, better tourists and ultimately quality in both the tourist coming to Malta and the quality of service we deliver.”

Malta Hotel and Restaurant Association president Tony Zahra meanwhile compared the power cuts to the contamination of several swimming bays with sewage, using similar language to previous comments he made on that issue: “Product Malta is what visitors are looking for.  The reliable and constant supply of energy is a must and it is now inexcusable to have power outages.

‘Clearly this affects Product Malta. It is essential that Malta offers a beautiful and inviting experience.”