Tourism Law in Europe

1 Tourism Legislation in Malta Jacqueline Tanti-Dougall 1 1. Introduction; 2. The Accommodation and Catering Sector; 3. Host Family Accommodation Regulations (Subsidiary Legislation 409.10); 4. The Hotelkeeper’s Liability; 5. Enforcement Provisions; 6. Conclusion. 1. Introduction The Malta Travel and Tourism Services Act (Chapter 409 of the Laws of Malta) is the “Mother Act” that governs Tourism in Malta. A number of Subsidiary Legislation fall under Chapter 409, which include, among others that will be briefly touched upon, the following: (a) Travel Operators and Organised Excursions Operators Regulations (S.L. 409.09); (b) Host Family Accommodation Regulations (S.L. 409.10); (c) Tourist Guides Regulations (S.L.409.12); (d) Apprentice Tourist Guides Regulations (S.L. 409.20); (e) the Package Travel Insolvency Fund Regulations (S.L. 409.18) 2 ; and (f) Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations, (S.L. 409.19) 3 . The Malta Travel and Tourism Services Act establishes the Malta Tourism Authority, which is a governing body, made up of eleven members, all of whom should have a “ knowledge and experience in matters relating to travel and tourism [art. 3(2)(a)]. The Minister for Tourism appoints members from the hotel industry, the travel agents and the airline industry to be represented on this Board. 1 A Partner at Advocates Tanti-Dougall & Associates; an International Legal Consultant on Travel and Tourism; a Visiting Lecturer on Travel & Tourism Law at University of Malta; the President of International Forum of Travel and Tourism Advocates (IFTTA). 2 See Tanti-Dougall, J. “Package Travel Insolvency Fund Regulations – the Maltese Perspective”, in Torres, C. et al. (eds.) The New Package Travel Directive , ESHTE and INATEL, 2017, pp. 253-262. 3 See Tanti-Dougall, J. “Package Travel Regulations – the Maltese Version”, in Torres, C. et al. (eds.) Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive, ESHTE and INATEL, 2020, pp. 1025-1044.