Minister for Tourism Clayton Bartolo has affirmed that only 35% of last year’s deckchairs on Blue Lagoon Bay will be present this summer… however, private concessions have been extended without a tender once again.

Speaking to journalists outside Parliament today, Bartolo explained that no tender has been issued on concessions for deckchairs on Malta’s smallest island because no long-term plan has been finalised.

Comino has been plagued by private operators covering every inch of the land with deckchairs and umbrellas even before visitors arrive.

The Malta Tourism Authority is meant to be monitoring the beaches for breaches of regulation but rarely imposes them on the area.

To add to injury, Malta’s government has also refused to provide the agreements signed with concessionaires with sunbed and umbrella operators at Comino’s Blue Lagoon.

Malta’s Tourism Authority rejected countless freedom of information requests and complaints, citing commercial confidentiality and the operators’ privacy.

However, freedom of information requests of this nature have been accepted before with the FOI system now notoriously the very opposite of what it originally set out to do.

What do you make of Bartolo’s comment?