‘Madness’ continues as MTA approves 30 new hotel projects

The Malta Tourism Authority has approved 30 new hotel projects this year, continuing the expansion of tourist accommodation despite industry warnings that overcapacity and strained infrastructure are damaging Malta’s tourism product.

The approvals were disclosed in parliament by Tourism Minister Jo Etienne Abela in reply to Nationalist MP Graziella Galea.

Figures published with the reply show 2,280 rooms and 4,594 beds across 12 localities, all in the three- and four-star categories.

Gżira accounts for seven projects and 1,344 beds, followed by Ta’ Xbiex with four projects and 832 beds. St Julian’s has six projects comprising 540 beds.

The remaining approvals cover Buġibba, Ħamrun, Marsa, Msida, Qawra, St Paul’s Bay, Sliema, Swieqi and Valletta.

Abela clarified that these are MTA approvals. The authority does not know whether the projects have been built.

The disclosure follows years of warnings from the industry itself.

In August 2024, The Shift reported that the Planning Authority was considering applications for at least 99 new hotels.

Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association president Tony Zahra described the situation as “complete madness”, warning that some four-star hotels were selling rooms for just €45 a night in November.

His warning accompanied concerns about sewage, power cuts, traffic, noise and overcrowded beaches.

In August this year, The Shift revealed that applications validated before new tourism restrictions took effect proposed approximately 30,000 additional hotel beds, excluding short-let apartments.

Filling those beds throughout the year would require roughly two million additional tourists annually, the report estimated.

The latest approvals may overlap with that wider pipeline, so the figures cannot simply be added together.

Yet the direction remains clear: more accommodation continues to receive approval while warnings about Malta’s capacity remain unresolved.

The government has promised a shift towards quality tourism. The disclosure shows the expansion in hotel capacity continuing regardless.