The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association has raised concerns over several Budget measures, warning that rising costs could place added pressure on Malta’s tourism industry and weaken the country’s competitiveness.MHRA said it supports responsible economic management and Finance Minister Clyde Caruana’s call for greater financial discipline, but argued that the burden should be shared fairly.The association said tourism businesses are being asked to absorb significant new costs while government recurrent expenditure continues to rise.One of its main concerns is the increase in the eco-contribution to €8 per person per night, which MHRA described as too sharp even when compared with other Mediterranean and European destinations.It also pointed to higher costs linked to employing third-country nationals, saying hotels, restaurants and other hospitality businesses rely heavily on international workers to maintain their operations and service standards.MHRA warned that the combined increase in costs could make Malta less attractive not only to price-sensitive tourists, but also to higher-spending visitors who compare the overall cost of a holiday with the quality of the destination experience.The association also criticised the continued expansion of tourist accommodation, arguing that adding more beds increases the pressure to attract enough visitors to fill them.“Malta cannot continue encouraging the development of additional accommodation capacity while increasing the cost of visiting the destination and expecting a shift towards higher-value tourism,” MHRA said.It called for a reassessment of policies encouraging further accommodation development, with greater focus on economic returns, infrastructure capacity, destination quality and community wellbeing.MHRA also called for stronger regulation of short-term rentals and asked for assurances that a meaningful portion of the eco-contribution will remain ring-fenced for improvements to Malta’s tourism offering rather than becoming part of general government revenue.•