The Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism in the Office of the Prime Minister, Dr Mario de Marco, has announced that the major Banks in Malta, namely APS Bank, Banif, Bank of Valletta, HSBC and Lombard Bank are supportive of a government initiative to grant a capital repayment moratorium for up to one year on a case by case basis for hotel owners and operators.

The moratorium is on the capital repayments and not on the interest payable. The Banks retained the right to review requests for this moratorium on a case by case basis. Hotel owners / operators wishing to avail themselves of this moratorium are required to apply with their banks.

The Parliamentary Secretary welcomed the move, saying this proposal is expected to have a positive effect on jobs in the hotel sector. It will also help ensure that hotels keep up their maintenance and improvement programmes.

Dr de Marco said that Government is currently considering other initiatives to help the industry through the coming months. “The economic crisis will have an impact on our tourism industry. We are working to minimize this impact both by stimulating demand and by ensuring that operators in the industry can hold their own during this period.”