Fight over Malta’s The Blue Lagoon free beaches

Video has revealed an increasing fight by tourists to get a spot on one of the most popular, and free, public beaches in the Mediterranean.

One of the most popular, free public beaches in the Mediterranean has been overrun by rogue deckchair vendors.

An expose by The Times of Malta has revealed tourists being muscled out of the coves and not being allowed to pass without paying for a recliner.

The Blue Lagoon, between the islands of Comino and Cominotto in Malta, is famed for its clear water, caves and hidden coves.

It was recently highlighted as one of The Telegraph’s top beaches for summer, largely due to Malta’s lack of quarantine requirements.

Once a poster for the Maltese tourism board, it is now unrecognisable, buried beneath umbrellas and sun-beds. Even those arriving on the first ferry to the island are not able to secure space.

Sun-bed operators have forced bathers off one of Europe's most beautiful free beaches. Picture: TripAdvisor

The Blue Lagoon is one of the top beaches on Malta’s islands. Picture: iStock

On Monday The Times of Malta published a video of vendors and deckchair employees preventing swimmers from finding space on the public beach. The video has been seen more than four million times.

It shows tourists trying to move along the beach, only to be blocked by barricades of parasols and recliners.

“If you hire a deckchair, you can move the umbrella,” an employee can be heard saying.

Maltese viewers condemned the scam, saying the beach hogging has ruined the attraction. “There is no fairness, there is no consideration.”

The video has gained plenty of comments from tourists who have experienced problems on Comino.

“I had to move some empty deckchairs slightly just to be able to pass through,” said a visitor, after which an operator “quickly ran over and started yelling at us that unless we hire from him we shouldn’t touch the deckchairs.”

The deckchair companies that tourists accused of blocking their access to the public beach pay concessions to the Maltese government.

However, when questioned by local media, the tourism ministry and tourism watchdog would not say how many operators were operating on Comino.

A statement to The Times said only “no permits for sun-bed operators have been issued this year”.

Authorities on Comino would not address questions of whether the deckchair vendors were breaking access laws or acting unfairly. Instead they issued a statement saying:

“The aforementioned island is not made up only of the Blue Lagoon, but incorporates other natural attractions that, as a government, we will continue conserving and investing in, while promoting the niche of eco-tourism.”

The Blue Lagoon has been used to sell Malta to the world.

The Malta Independent revealed that there were close to 460 deckchairs at any one time, double the number permitted in the Maltese Tourism Association tender document.

Each of these chairs is charged at 10 euros ($16) a day – or up to $20 for those closer to the water.

One tourist posted photos to TripAdvisor saying “Sure the water’s beautiful, but there’s no more than 5cm between each bather.” He was concerned over the lack of distancing measures and rubbish left behind. “It’s all been ruined,” he said.

Malta’s Tourism Ministry was recently accused by Friends of the Earth of corruption and abuse of public land.

Previously the Blue Lagoon had come before the Maltese parliament for illegal road works, to improve access to the site.

The ombudsman and the commissioner for environment and planning said that roads to the lagoon had been illegal and without proper environmental consideration.

The Times of Malta reported that no action was taken, and the resurfacing works continued.

This article originally appeared on the New Zealand Herald and was reproduced with permission