Agreements signed between the Malta Tourism Authority and two quarantine hotels will remain under lock and key after a Freedom of Information request was rejected. 

Lovin Malta had filed an FOI with the Malta Tourism Authority, asking for a copy of the agreements it had signed with the Marina Hotel in St George’s Bay and the ST Sliema Hotel.  

However, the MTA rejected this request, arguing that the information is subject to commercial confidentiality and sensitivity. 

Lovin Malta is challenging this decision and the MTA’s logic that the information is commercially sensitive. 

Earlier this year, the Maltese authorities obliged everyone travelling from a country classified as ‘dark red’ to quarantine for two weeks at a designated hotel out of their own pockets. 

The MTA warned that people who refuse to pay will be subject to legal action. 

Following a public outcry, the authorities ended up changing the rules to allow Maltese residents to quarantine at home granted their households consist of five people or fewer, all of whom must be vaccinated against COVID-19.

However, some people have demanded a refund of the money they worked out for their hotel room. 

Cover photo: Left: MTA CEO Johann Buttigieg, Right: A room inside the ST Sliema Hotel