A detailed analysis on the performance of the €100 Voucher Incentive Measure was given by Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Businesses, Silvio Schembri while addressing a press conference on Thursday morning.

It was explained that around 1.29 million Government vouchers have been used so far, out of a total of 2.23 million. The €100 vouchers were issued as part of a state initiative to bolster domestic economic activity. This meant an equivalent of €25.8 million of economic injection, Minister Schembri said.

In fact, around 1.07 million red vouchers (82.62 per cent) – which can be redeemed in hotels, restaurants and accommodation have been used – whilst 0.23 million blue vouchers (17.38 per cent) have been redeemed.

Minister Schembri spoke of the multiplier effect taking place as a result of the initiative, highlighting that the multiplier effect generated through the use of red vouchers so far stands at 1.36. Therefore, for every €20 voucher used there is an average additional spend of €7.16.

He said the multiplier effect produced by the blue voucher stands at 1.82, which signifies that for every €20 voucher used an average additional spend of €16.42 took place.

This means that the economic injection over and above including VAT stands at €37.3 Million.

“This augurs well for the domestic economy. Such encouraging numbers reflect that the stimulation of the economy is well spread amongst all strata of society, all of which benefited from such a strong measure; be it both the consumer and ultimately our businesses”, said Minister Schembri.

A short analysis at how these expenditures have been effectuated:

- Weekends were the period in which vouchers were most used
- Saturday 8th August was the day when most vouchers were redeemed
- On this single day 54,000 vouchers were used, which is equivalent to an economic injection of € 1,080,000
- On average 46,000 vouchers are being used every Saturday

The most popular outlets for the use of vouchers include:

- Businesses in the 4-star accommodation sector
- Popular restaurants
- Renowned retail franchises

“As can be noted here, we are impacting a wide range of businesses so that the economy is regenerated for everyone; from hotels, restaurants, accommodation, shopping and services. Now that the voucher system has been extended till the end of October, I encourage everyone to make the most of it and be part of the regeneration of our economy. The results so far are more than encouraging.

“We managed to keep businesses afloat and safeguarded as many jobs as possible to the point that when we embark upon the economic growth journey, economic activity will manage to retain its strong momentum. Even more importantly, on a social level, we have provided a semblance of much-needed normality for our young people, families and even our old-age pensioners after challenging months”, said Minister Schembri.

Keith Abela, advisor within the Ministry of the Economy, Investment and Small Businesses said that the response in the business community for the use of the voucher system was overwhelming.

5,616 outlets are accepting vouchers, out of which 1447 registered VAT Numbers are those pertaining to restaurants, hotels, bars and diving schools, 2904 registered VAT Numbers pertain to retail and services and 89 VAT Numbers accept both vouchers.

Mr Abela gave details on the amount of vouchers distributed and collected up to the 1st of September:

- 97.6% of Maltese residents have collected their vouchers
- 61.6% of residents within the European Union have collected their vouchers
- While 79.4% residents from outside the European Union have collected their vouchers

While thanking the Malta Post Office for their work and close collaboration with the government and Mimcol, he said that around 40,000 vouchers have yet to be collected.

Stanley Mifsud, the Chief Executive Officer of Mimcol, explained how the entity made sure to successfully adapt to this unprecedented situation in order to satisfactorily address businesses and consumers’ queries.

All in all, it received 9,400 emails from consumers as well as 3,800 emails from businesses resulting in the processing of 12,100 email.

On the other hand, amongst consumers the main issues were related to losing their voucher tracking number, Maltese nationals not receiving a voucher and foreign nationals having expired ID cards or residence permits.

For any further queries, one may call or send an email as follows:

Businesses – 80074950 [email protected]