Malta’s September 2025 Announcements: New Public Holiday, Cheaper Bills and Cruise Tax Shake-Up

Feast-to-Fireworks: How the Announcements of 23 September 2025 Are Rewriting Malta’s Calendar
By Hot Malta staff | 23 September 2025

Valletta’s Grand Harbour woke up to more than just the usual clang of church bells this morning. As the sun crept over the fortifications, Principal Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar stepped onto a makeshift stage outside the Auberge de Castille and unfurled a parchment-style scroll—yes, parchment, because someone in the tourism ministry still believes in theatre. The contents, however, were anything but antique. Cutajar’s “Announcements − September 23, 2025” bundle, a 14-page dossier signed off by Cabinet before dawn, touches every corner of Maltese life: from the price of a pastizz to the route of next year’s Rolex Middle Sea Race.

Locals have learned to treat the autumn equinox pronouncements as Malta’s unofficial State of the Nation. The tradition started in 2019 when government communications merged the budget teaser, saints’ day timetable and EU-funding scorecard into one mega-drop. Today’s edition, though, is the first to be delivered under a Labour legislature that no longer holds a one-seat majority, meaning every clause was haggled over like fish at the Marsa market.

Cheaper Utilities, but Make It Green
First up, electricity tariffs will fall by 8 % as of 1 October, but only for households that install a smart meter before Santa Marija 2026. Energy Minister Miriam Dalli framed it as “putting the ‘reduce’ in reduċi,” a pun that landed better in Maltese. The catch: the €40 million subsidy is bankrolled by the new “cruise-ship pollution levy”—a €9 per-passenger tax that had the Valletta Waterfront’s tour operators spitting out their kinnie.

Saint Publius Gets a Public Holiday
Perhaps the most culturally resonant announcement is the elevation of the Feast of Saint Publius to a full national public holiday, starting 2026. Currently only a public feast in Floriana, the change recognises Malta’s first-century bishop—and hands Maltese workers one more three-day weekend, raising the island’s public-holiday tally to 15, joint-highest in the EU. Floriana mayor Nigel Holland called it “justice for the forgotten saint,” while employers’ lobby MEIA warned of a €52 million productivity hit. Expect heated talk-radio until the first pub-crawl itinerary under the new holiday drops.

Gozo Fast-Ferry Fare Cap
Gozitans, meanwhile, finally got what they’ve demanded since 2018: a €4.50 maximum fare on the fast-ferry service, subsidised to the tune of €3 million a year. The measure kicks in on 1 December, just in time for the Christmas cribs circuit. Minister Clint Camilleri swore the subsidy won’t come at the expense of road maintenance, a promise that triggered audible snorts from the press gallery.

Carnival Goes Global—But Tickets Required
In a bid to stop Venice from stealing Malta’s February thunder, 2026’s Carnival will feature a ticketed grand finale inside the newly enlarged Valletta Cruise Port tent. Price: €15 a head, kids under 12 free. Culture Minister Owen Bonnici promised “Brazilian floats meets Maltese folja,” with 70 % of proceeds funnelled to local każini band clubs. Street purists fear the move commercialises a grassroots fete; others welcome the chance to finally find a toilet that isn’t a plastic alley bucket.

Community Impact—The Human Numbers
Within minutes of the broadcast, café owner Maria Pace in Sliema had chalked “Publius Day Weekend Special – 2 cocktails €15” on her blackboard. “One more holiday means one more hangover,” she laughed, “but also one more paycheck.” Over in Għargħur, 67-year-old pensioner Ġanni Azzopardi was less cheerful. “They lower my bill but force me to change the meter. Who’s paying the electrician?”

Economist Stephanie Fabri weighed in: “The announcements are cleverly timed ahead of Q4 retail and hospitality spend. An extra holiday boosts domestic tourism by roughly €18 million, but the productivity loss could shave 0.2 % off GDP unless offset by higher retail turnover.”

Looking Ahead
All measures require parliamentary approval, tricky given the government’s razor-thin majority. Yet with opposition leader Bernard Grech already tweeting his “cautious support” for the Saint Publius holiday, expect smooth sailing—unless someone resurrects the long-dormant spring hunting referendum as a bargaining chip.

For now, Maltese wallets, calendars and WhatsApp family groups are syncing to a new rhythm. Whether you’re a fireworks enthusiast in Lija, a start-up founder in SmartCity, or a cruise passenger about to be hit with a €9 levy, the announcements of 23 September 2025 have redrawn the map of everyday life. As the parchment was rolled up and the kunsill tal-banda struck up a jaunty march, one truth echoed inside the limestone walls: in Malta, policy is never just policy—it’s the next village feast, the next day off, the next spirited argument over pastizzi. And that, arguably, is the most Maltese thing of all.