Impunity on The Strand: illegal ticket booths survive latest enforcement action

Despite fresh warnings from the police and the Sliema Local Council, and a hard deadline that expired two weeks ago, around 40 illegal ticket booths still occupy and disfigure Sliema’s The Strand promenade, highlighting yet another failed enforcement effort in one of Malta’s busiest tourist areas.

Last month, police officers, accompanied by Mayor John Pillow, plastered stickers on every illegal booth, warning operators they were in breach of the law and ordering them to remove the structures by mid-April or face forced removal.

The Sliema Local Council widely publicised the enforcement exercise through a series of social media posts that portrayed it as a decisive crackdown.

Yet, with the deadline now long expired, no booths have been removed.

The makeshift structures remain in place, staffed daily by employees of cruise companies selling tickets to tourists and passers-by along the promenade.

The council has not explained why the threatened action was not carried out.

Repeated efforts by The Shift to contact Mayor Pillow for comment proved unsuccessful, while the police did not reply.

The latest failed enforcement attempt adds to a long-running saga over the illegal booths, which have mushroomed along less than a kilometre of the promenade over the years, creating clutter and obstructing pedestrian access in one of Malta’s prime waterfront locations.

Last year, Mayor Pillow admitted to The Shift that he had failed to fulfil an earlier promise to remove the booths by November 2024, despite what he described as “tireless” efforts. He insisted he could not act alone, blaming the central government for a lack of cooperation.

The Shift had learned that the ministries directly involved in the issue included the Ministry for Tourism and the Lands Authority.

Sources familiar with the discussions said that while most operators were prepared to cooperate, they insisted that all companies had to be treated equally.

The four main cruise operators occupying most of the illegal booths are Captain Morgan, Luzzu Cruises, Hera Cruises and Supreme Cruises.

The problem has persisted for decades under successive administrations that have largely avoided confronting the issue.

According to the Planning Authority, the booths are illegal and were never granted permits.

Despite this, most have been supplied with electricity meters by Enemalta – a move that appears to contradict planning regulations.

The government’s inaction has emboldened further abuse.

Some operators reportedly shut down permanent ticket offices to avoid paying rent and shifted operations to illegal booths on the promenade instead.

For now, despite repeated promises, public warnings and official notices, the illegal booths remain firmly in place – a visible symbol of the wider culture of impunity increasingly defining public enforcement