12 Tourists Fined €2,000 As Swieqi Airbnb Is Shut Down

The Swieqi apartment block where bottles were thrown from balconies onto parked cars has now been shut down, while 12 young tourists have been fined a combined €2,000.

Police said they responded to reports of excessive noise at the property in Triq Cannataci yesterday evening, where the group was found breaching public order regulations. They were also issued on-the-spot fines for illegal waste disposal.

Following the incident, the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) carried out inspections and found that eight of the nine apartments in the block were operating in breach of their licence conditions.

As a result, tourists staying in the affected apartments were ordered to leave and relocated to alternative accommodation.

The MTA has since issued an Enforcement Notice against the operator and ordered the immediate closure of the entire apartment block until it complies with all legal and regulatory requirements.

The enforcement follows footage shared with Lovin Malta showing bottles being thrown from the balconies onto parked cars below. It also comes after Swieqi Deputy Mayor Jordan Galea Pace warned that unsustainable tourism is leaving residents “priced out” of their own locality, while calling for stronger enforcement against disruptive behaviour in residential areas.

Police said that, over the weekend, they issued a total of 17 on-the-spot fines as part of ongoing efforts to maintain public order and ensure operators comply with regulations.

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Dylan Attard

Dylan Attard is a Social Media Executive at Lovin Malta and a proud Gozitan with a passion for digital media, content creation, and social trends. Outside of work, you’ll usually find him at the gym, watching series or doomscrolling.