Sunbeds and umbrellas on Comino will be decreased by 65% this summer, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo announced to the legislature on Monday.

The administration wants to return the space to the public, the minister said in response to a parliamentary question from Labour MP Cressida Galea.

Last year, the NGO Moviment Graffitti undertook a direct action to protest the private concessions preventing access to the public coastline on the island of Comino, drawing attention to the situation there.

Throughout several summers, deck chairs and umbrellas have taken up Comino’s Blue Lagoon. Over 600 people signed a petition in 2021 requesting “the removal of sun beds and deckchairs from Comino” from MPs.

Before the first tourist boats come, private vendors who consider the Blue Lagoon as their own private beach lido spread out deckchairs along the entire shoreline, including the jetty, beaches, and rocks.

A new shift of beach cleaners and an additional rubbish collection trip will be implemented on Comino, according to the tourist ministry. Now, waste is transported by boat three times every day.