Environment, Climate Change & Tourism Product

Strategy 10.

To give due recognition to the detrimental effects which unchecked climate change and global warming are bound to have on the country’s tourism appeal and to engage in a national and global effort aimed at achieving Climate Friendly Travel by 2050.
 

Rationale

Climate change is universally recognised as an existential threat to many aspects of life on Planet Earth. The effects of sustained rises in average global temperatures which is attributable to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are forecast to negatively influence biodiversity, weather patterns and a very wide range of human activity ranging from food production to land loss caused by sea level change, increased desertification, pressures on fresh water sources and a wide list of human activities including leisure activities.

A country like Malta faces multiple threats from the worst scenarios emerging from unrestrained and uncontrolled climate change. Malta comprises a sedimentary rock archipelago with a relatively small surface area and a high population density. The lie of the land shelves in a west to east direction with the western coast featuring cliffs in excess of 200 metres altitude while the eastern coast shelves into sea level whilst also being exposed to the north easterly winds which are the ones most strongly linked to strong gusty storms and surges of sea water which batter the exposed coastline damaging maritime assets and causing widespread flooding in low lying areas.

Mainland Malta’s east coast features a huge share of Malta’s tourism infrastructure and tourist attractions, both natural and man-made. The main resort areas of Sliema/St Julians, Bugibba/Qawra. St Paul’s Bay, Xemxija, Mellieha and Marsascala are all on this stretch of coastline as is Gozo’s main coastal resort of Marsalforn. Some of the largest sandy beaches such as Mellieha Bay, Ramla l-Hamra Bay, St George’s Bay, Armier Bay and other smaller sandy beaches are also aligned in this direction. The historic walled towns around Grand Harbour, the yachting facilities in Grand Harbour and Marsamxett Harbour are also concentrated on the low-lying eastern coast. Other coastal indentations such as Marsaxlokk Bay, Wied iz-Zurrieq, Ghar Lapsi, Gnejna/Ghajn Tuffieha and the small coves of the Mellieha coastline on Malta together with localities such as Mgarr, Xlendi, Hondoq ir-Rummien, Qbajjar etc on Gozo.

This implies that a combination of sea-level rise accompanied by an increased incidence of bad weather events involving sea storm surges pose huge risks on a low-altitude, sea-level indented coastline which houses not only the vast majority of the country’s resident population but also features a concentration of tourism infrastructure and attractions. Climate-change induced pressures on this coastal stretch will have profound and detrimental social, environmental and economic impacts on Malta and Gozo. 

Apart from the obvious, and directly related impacts of climate change on Malta’s coastal littoral, there are other factors at play too which cannot be ignored. A higher mean sea level precipitated through the release of melted fresh water from the polar ice caps and the major glaciers will also have a profound impact on Malta’s aquifer, the majority of which lies at sea level. Because of the porous nature of Malta’s sedimentary geology, the infiltration of brackish water into the aquifer will pose great problems to the island’s water supply. This problem may be further exacerbated should the coastal water desalination plants at Ghar Lapsi, Cirkewwa, Pembroke and Hondoq ir-Rummien become endangered due to flooding. The same applies to the Delimara electricity generating infrastructure which also lies dangerously close to current sea levels.

Climate change may also bring about challenges to Malta’s cargo receiving capacity should facilities in
the two major mercantile harbours in Valletta and Marsaxlokk become compromised whilst changed
weather patterns and extreme temperatures will obviously impact the attractiveness of the destination,
particularly should daytime temperatures exceed comfort and safety levels for lengthy outdoor exposure during the warmest months of the year. This poses huge problems to a destination designed on the premise of hosting large volumes of visitors based on outdoor experiences during most times of the year which help increase the country’s receptive capacity in an impressive manner.

Other impacts relate to landscape change, countryside die-off, changed/reduced nature of agricultural
produce impacting the local gastronomic scene and an increase in natural hazards and catastrophes
ranging from drought to extreme rainfall, high winds, fires and erosion amongst others.

All the above are indicative of the huge existential threats which climate change poses both generically
overall and specifically to tourism-continuity sustainability.

The urgency of the situation is emphasised by the relative imminence of climate change impacts which call for a sense of urgency as impacts may start to manifest themselves within mere decades and inaction is not an option as the situation requires addressing in advance rather than reacting after the damage is done.

The issue of Climate Change is invariably a complex one and transcends not only geographical and
national boundaries and also cross-sectoral ones. Efforts aimed at addressing Climate Change range from direct ones aiming to reduce contributory factors such as greenhouse gas emissions to reactionary ones aiming to mitigate impacts.

In terms of mitigating measures, existing structures need to adapt, and new buildings need to be designed to cope with the risks brought about by climate change. The list of domestic carbon polluters includes various components of the tourism industry. The built environment forms a large part of tourism, be it buildings such as hotels and restaurants or other tourism service providers. All these contribute to the problem because of significant power consumption, directly or indirectly, which is the main contributor to carbon emissions with significant impact on climate change.

This Tourism Strategy to 2030 is not tasked with addressing the wider issues of Global Warming and
Climate Change but rather has a specific interest in the narrower, tourism-related objectives which it
can influence. Within this context, it will be guided by the principle of aspiring for Climate Friendly Travel
through implementing a set of local and international actions with the objective of Establishing Malta as
a Centre for Climate Friendly Travel.

In 2019, the Ministry of Tourism and MTA signed an SDG17 Partnership Agreement with the not-for-profit
Green Growth & Travelism Institute in Brussels to create SUNx Malta as a global Centre for Climate Friendly Travel – aspiring for a Low carbon/SDG linked/Paris 1.5 degree average temperature rise ceiling trajectory.

SUNx Malta will be a core element of a number of reframing and rebounding strategies aimed at achieving these aspirations.

The Climate Crisis is existential, and Travel and Tourism stand to feature a high element of vulnerability
as a result of extreme and unpredictable weather changes, sea level rises and droughts which will be
particularly threatening for Malta as a small island state. All companies and communities will need to
adapt and SUNx Malta will support that transformation.

SUNx Malta will contribute towards ensuring that Malta keeps track of relevant SDG actions around the
world, liaise effectively with the relevant local bodies responsible for Climate Change particularly in a
number of fields such as identifying technology innovation and assessing its potential application for
Maltese tourism development particularly within the context of Malta’s aspiration to become a Centre for Climate Friendly Travel.

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Objective

To prioritise the establishment of Malta as a Climate Friendly Travel Destination through the dual actions
of understanding and mitigating the impacts of Climate Change on the local territory and its tourism
infrastructure and to concurrently take a leading international role in championing Climate Friendly
Travel with the travel industry, academia and other stakeholders as a response to the existential threat
of global warming.

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Goals and Actions

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GOAL 1

Understand Climate Change impacts on Travel and Tourism. Applying the science to Malta’s realities. Quantifying the scale and nature of the threat.

Actions

Action 1.  Follow international literature, findings and guidelines, especially those from territories similar to Malta.

Action 2.  Produce regular updates on threat levels for the different elements identified.

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GOAL 2

Investigate potential Climate Change impacts on Malta’s coastal amenities, infrastructure, beaches, harbour facilities, residential and accommodation plant, historic towns, water and power production/ generation, yachting and boating facilities, aquifers, natural hazard incidence and other factors.

Actions

Action 1.  Undertake a Study on Climate Change related impacts on the elements identified in this Goal.

Action 2.  Develop, produce and regularly update a Climate Change Tourism Risk Index for Malta.​

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GOAL 3

Apply the findings emerging from Goals 1 and 2 to form the basis of actions to be undertaken to minimise risks, affect protective/preventative measures, plan alternative strategies and draft plans to create future market repositioning accompanied by the relevant product development initiatives to adjust the tourist offer to the new emerging realities.

Actions

Action 1.  Produce a Tourism Climate Change Response Plan for Malta featuring a mix of proactive and mitigating measures.

Action 2.  Follow international Climate Change developments and responses to achieve a better understanding of developments worldwide and tweaks and adjustments necessary to adjust the tourism industry to changing situations.

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GOAL 4

Categorise, quantify and locate which aspects of the Maltese tourism industry are most likely to be influenced by climate change.

Actions

Action 1.  Generate a living document categorising, quantifying and locating Climate change prone elements of Maltese Tourism.

Action 2.  Provide annual updates of this document.​

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GOAL 5

Source and investigate international best practice in the different fields in terms of mitigation measures.

Actions

Action 1.  Participate in international fora at a European and Mediterranean level.

Action 2.  Engage with specialist firms and organisations to provide continuous direction in this highly technical area.

GOAL 6

Follow and contribute to international fora discussing Climate Change and Travel and ensure that the small island state perspective is given adequate recognition in discussions and decision making.

Actions

Action 1.  Present Malta’s position and experience in terms of decision-making structures to alert them of the impacts of decisions and directives they propose.
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GOAL 7

Work towards establishing Malta as a credible and effective Climate Friendly Travel Destination through an ambitious portfolio of local and international actions.

Actions

Action 1.  Undertake various actions at a local level to establish Malta as an innovator as a Climate Friendly Travel destination.

Action 2.  Take a leading international role in steering a discussion, bringing together the widest range of industry players and sectors, to champion the cause of Climate Friendly travel as a tangible response to Climate Change.

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Strategy 11. To introduce a set of measurable climate and sustainability indicators to properly measure tourism impacts on the environment to ensure that future tourism development embraces sustainable parameters within the widest possible range of measurable variables.
 

Rationale

The importance of this strategy gains increased relevance in view of Malta’s commitment to the principles enshrined in the EU Green Deal and the Maltese Government’s declared intention to make increasing use of sustainability principles when planning Malta’s future development.

Tourism to Malta has by and large developed into an extensive socio-economic activity whose benefit is almost solely measured in terms of crude economic and financial returns. This poses huge dilemmas in the area of tourism planning because of the obvious conflicts between the continued physical growth and presence of tourism activity within the constraints of a high-density territory featuring the opposing forces of very high population and limited land mass.

As a result, the need is increasingly felt to realistically introduce a series of measurements on the basis of which a set of key tourism sustainability indicators will be formulated for Malta. In turn such indicators will eventually be introduced into decision making practices so as to ensure that major decision influencing the future development and direction of tourism are as close as possible to the principles of sustainable development.

In September 2015, the U.N. approved the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and with it the Sustainable Development Goals, a framework comprising 17 goals, 169 targets and 200+ indicators, through which States, civil society, and the private sector can guide and measure their contributions to sustainable development towards 2030. This development agenda is the most ambitious global sustainability effort to date and the 17 goals are a universal call to action to eradicate poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The goals are interconnected, often the key to success on one will involve tackling issues more commonly associated with another. The SDGs work in the spirit of partnership and pragmatism.

UNWTO argues that tourism impacts, and is impacted, by all of the SDGs. The Government and all Tourism Stakeholders must analyse which SDGs applies to their operations and how they will respond. The SDGs are targeted to 2030, but they do not have any binding effect. They have provided a useful framework for this strategic analysis, particularly Malta’s own Environment SDG Vision 2050 and the UNWTO’s position. as one of its core operational pillars.

The Sustainable Development Goals which the Strategy specifically focuses on are the following:

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• #3 Good Health and Well Being

• #4 Quality Education

• #5 Gender Equality

• #6 Clean Water and Sanitation

• #7 Affordable and Clean Energy

• #8 Decent Work and Economic Growth

• #9 Industry Innovation and Infrastructure

• #11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

• #12 Responsible Consumption and Production

• #13 Climate Action

• #14 Life Below Water

• #15 Life on Land

• #17 Partnerships for The Goals

Whereas it is acknowledged that there is a vast body of information relating both to sustainability in general and tourism sustainability KPIs, there is a general feeling that many of these generic KPIs may prove challenging to apply to the Maltese reality given that if one where to subject Malta to such KPIs the obvious, undesirable response would be that in many cases Malta has already surpassed sustainability limits. What therefore follows is the need for a more specifically formulated set of indicators, adjusted to Maltese realities, and which can be used and applied in a positive manner whilst taking the current situation as their ground zero. The alternative will unfortunately be that through using most existing indicators the most likely outcome would be the impractical and unacceptable downscaling of the entire spectrum of human activities in the archipelago.

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Objective

To measure and monitor the activity of Tourism in the Maltese Islands in a way which follows the
principles enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly the thirteen Goals which this
Strategy focuses upon. To develop and produce a set of Key Performance Indicators to measure activity
in terms of these SDGs which recognise the specific realities prevailing within the territory of the Maltese Islands. To apply the findings emerging from such indicators to decision making processes.

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Goals and Actions

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GOAL 1

Apply international best practice in terms of starting to measure a range of sustainability
indicators based on inputs and experiences from similar sized regions and territories to be
able to start measuring and applying such indicators within Malta’s realities.

Actions

Action 1.  Utilise existing and available expertise from a number of specialised sources to devise a set of sustainabilitym indicators for the destination.

Action 2.  Convert the indicators into KPIs and devise ways of measuring and monitoring them on a regular basis.

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GOAL 2

Apply Climate Friendly Travel indicators to encourage destination carbon neutral initiatives  covering a range of areas such as transport, tourism operations and infrastructural needs.

Actions

Action 1.  Create a list of indicators for particular areas.

Action 2.  Continuously monitor.

Action 3.  Publish and publicise and undertake actions in response.

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GOAL 3

Convert Indicators into Decision making tools. 

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Actions

Action 1.  Create systems to integrate the direction forthcoming from Indicators in Goals 1 and 2 into policy making.

GOAL 4

Engage in international fora to benchmark methodologies, results and sustainability aspirations.

Actions

Action 1.  Identify and participate in relevant fora.

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GOAL 5

Actively focus on measures aimed at furthering gender mainstreaming and empowermentin the tourism industry as fundamental components of just, equitable societies. Tourism has already been proven to provide pathways to empowerment, and the opportunity for tourismto make a positive difference in this area should be maximized through the involvement ofthe relevant stakeholders.

Actions

Action 1.  Achieve a greater understanding of issues impacting gender mainstreaming and empowerment generally and specifically to the tourism industry.

Action 2.  Identify which areas of tourism industry employment need to be addressed to improve gender mainstreaming and empowerment.

Action 3.  Formulate an Action Plan with clear objectives and timeframes.

GOAL 6

Devise a Sustainable Tourism Charter involving wide stakeholder buyout and application.Such a Charter to inspire a Code of Conduct to provide direction to the manner of conductingtourism operations and activities.

Actions

Action 1.  Encompass the Destination’s Sustainable Tourism aspirations through the drafting of a Sustainable Tourism Charter for Malta.

Action 2.  Attract wide stakeholder acceptance and buy-out of the Charter.

Action 3.  Use the principles enshrined in the Charter to draft a Code of Conduct for the Tourism Sector.

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Strategy 12. To build a strong case for the conservation and preservation of natural and man-made tangible and intangible heritage in recognition of their growing relevance and importance to the discerning tourists of today and tomorrow and to promote such heritage as an integral component of the Malta brand. To promote protected areas as models for sustainable tourism, enhancing responsible travel to natural areas which conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people.

Rationale

The Tourism Experience comprises the destination’s unique mix of tangible and intangible offers, ancient, modern or contemporary. Sometimes, destinations focus heavily on their natural offer, especially in the case of countries rich in natural attractions or wildlife, while other destinations, especially those lacking natural attributes, focus very heavily on the man-made dimension, which, once again could range from the distant past to the modern and contemporary.

When analysing the history of Malta’s tourism development over the past seven decades, it becomes
evident that, in yet another paradoxical twist, Malta’s tourism evolution took off by focusing on those
elements in which the country did not have a distinct competitive advantage whilst simultaneously
ignoring those elements which made it unique, different or distinct from the competition.

Thus, during the decades of British tourism prevalence the focus was heavily based on the concept of
an extension of England in the Mediterranean sun featuring a Mediterranean Riviera in lieu of the British
Riviera but nevertheless giving precedence to products, services and culinary offers aimed exclusively at the British market.

The subsequent diversification of geographical source markets, extension of the tourist season and the
development of special interest travel niches as a way of enhancing Malta’s attractiveness to a wider cohort of potential travellers gave rise to the realisation that it is indeed that which is local, traditional, genuinely authentic, and original which distinguishes the destination from others. It is such elements, which, rather than constituting an inferior dimension that needs to be obscured from the tourists’ view are today recognised as being the building blocks of the contemporary, experiential, sustainability-driven tourism experience being sought by the travellers which this Strategy seeks to attract increasing quantities and shares of.

In this way tourism activity is transformed from continuing to develop in a way which is anathema to such tangible and intangible heritage and changes tack completely to not only recognise but to valorise such heritage and present it in a responsible way to the tourists which Malta and Gozo wish to attract in the coming years.

As a result, tourism develops a symbiotic relationship with heritage rather than acting in an alienating
manner against its long-term survival and sustainability. Symbiosis creates an environment which is
the opposite of a parasitic relationship in that the different sides derive mutual benefit rather than the
imbalance of unidirectional giving and taking. 

Tourism will therefore champion the cause for the preservation of the wide range of natural and manmade tangible and intangible heritage extant in Malta and Gozo. Such heritage constitutes the backbone of the Tourism Strategy’s quest for a higher quality, more clearly branded, increasingly sustainable, less damaging and more competitive tourism offer in the coming years.

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Objective

To advise, educate and familiarise the Maltese Tourism Industry with the wide spectrum of Malta’s natural and man-made tangible and intangible heritage for its stronger integration within the Maltese Tourism Offer, its promotion and presentation to tourists and its preservation and valorisation in a responsible, sensitive, and sustainable manner which protects it for future generations of residents and visitors alike.

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Goals and Actions

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GOAL 1

Create a list of tangible Cultural/Heritage and other attractions in the Maltese Islands
including their protection/preservation status.

Actions

Action 1.  Commission an Inventory of Tangible Cultural/Heritage and other attractions as per Goal 1 including current standard of offer.

Action 2.  Tap into existing information lying with various Ministries, Agencies and Organisations.

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GOAL 2

Research existing and former intangible cultural and traditional elements particular to
zones or localities in terms of their relevance to enhance local character and diversify offer.
To include contemporary culture as manifested through arts and entertainment.

Actions

Action 1.  Extend the information sources for Goal 1 to cover intangible elements as well.

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GOAL 3

Tap into the extensive local knowledge of Local Councils, Voluntary Organisations, Tourist
Guides and NGOs to compliment Goals 1 and 2 with further inputs and anecdotal evidence.
 

Actions

Action 1.  Expand into the local dimension to seek specific, otherwise uncovered elements of tangible and intangible nature and compile information in a usable manner.

GOAL 4

Include the Marine Dimension primarily as a distinct, additional zone relating to the territory
and secondarily in terms of its specific relevance to each specific zone and locality.

Actions

Action 1.  Treating the maritime dimension as a natural extension of the landmass and inventorising its natural, topographical and socio-cultural dimensions in addition to their terrestrial counterparts.

Action 2.  Place more focus on the importance and relevance of Marine Reserves and strive to protect and increase marine life through a number of measures including wrecks and artificial reefs to sustain the scuba diving market.

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GOAL 5

Publish, Disseminate and Publicise the outcomes of this Strategy to serve as a strong motivator for the growth of a more sustainable approach to tourism development.

Actions

Action 1.  Ensure that the knowledge emerging from Goals 1 to 4 are properly disseminated and publicised to assist in a greater appreciation and application of these values amongst stakeholders.
 

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Strategy 13. To secure European and National funds to push for tourism product development and improvement. To do this in liaison with other Ministries and Agencies whose remit and responsibility overlaps with tourism.
 

Rationale

By its very nature tourism is an activity which actively overlaps on a very wide range of sectors. Tourism is far from a self-contained, closed type of economic activity and its large number of sectoral inter-relationships are testament to its relevance, importance and strong economic contribution based on high multiplier effects arising from such inter-relationships.

For the tourism experience to be improved it is therefore necessary for the destination to engage in a
number of product and infrastructural improvements addressing both the direct and the indirect
elements of the tourism product.

This strategy deals specifically with the physical element of the Maltese tourism product in the light of
other strategies dealing specifically with the intangible product.

Investing in the tourism product is important for two major reasons: innovation and maintenance/upkeep.

Innovation is important because it creates new products or gives a new lease of life to existing ones while maintenance and upkeep are important to ensure that the product on offer is kept up to standard and in the best possible shape. Innovation generates new products while maintenance and upkeep prevent them from becoming shabby whilst also extending their operational lifetimes.

This Strategy aims to secure a mix of European and National funds to ensure that tourism continues to be given top priority in the allocation of funding in projects and investments of a direct nature whilst also being kept top of mind as a user/client of other projects undertaken primarily for reasons other than tourism.

Funds will need to be secured for areas including:

• Tourism product additions and upgrades arising from updated legislation and regulations aimed at enhancing the quality dimension.

• Tourism-industry specific funding aimed at pro-actively addressing the impacts of climate change by a) introducing measures aimed at reducing local tourism’s carbon footprint as close as possible to zero and b) helping the Maltese tourism industry adapt to climate change impacts.

• Establishing a clearer and closer relationship between local food producers and the Maltese tourism industry through the elevation of locally grown and produced food to a higher level of quality, diversity and culinary appreciation. Tourism thus sustains locally grown food and local gastronomic traditions in a way which eventually enhances the tourists’ Maltese holiday experience in a truly symbiotic relationship. The heavy promotion of Farm to Fork concepts and the continued development of culinary experiences derived from local products will be encouraged.

• The more formal appreciation of the Marine dimension of the Maltese holiday experience on the basis of improved conservation. The seas around Malta provide entertainment, transport, food, freshwater via desalination and a huge historical depository of wrecks amongst others. Its biosphere acts as a huge carbon sink while its seagrass meadows act as a breeding ground for fish and absorb sea-storm impacts. Its relationship with tourism is widespread and important.

• Conservation is a theme which is of utmost relevance to tourism. Conservation could range from natural conservation and protection to the conservation and preservation of man-made objects and landscapes. Conservation valorizes previously ignored or abandoned assets whilst enhancing the community’s attachment to the land and its heritage and history.

• Infrastructural investment will always be necessary so as to ensure that the country and destination function smoothly and benefit from the most modern and efficient methods available. Infrastructure covers transport, energy, water, waste management, sewage treatment and a host of other areas each of which contribute to a better quality of life for residents and an improved visitor experience for tourists.

• Beaches, particularly sandy ones, will continue to constitute a very important component of Malta’s summer offer. Studies relating to their long-term preservation and replenishment will be necessary to underpin a funding programme based on clear timeframes and adequate budgets.

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Objective

The successful execution of this Strategy and its multiple goals is heavily dependent on the continuous
roll-out of a planned set of product interventions addressing the various components of the tourist
experience. They include new developments, product upgrades, maintenance and upkeep, conservation,
direct products and general infrastructure. Such interventions need to take place as part of an overall
Plan and in a prioritized manner and their funding sources be identified.

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Goals and Actions

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GOAL 1
Set funding priorities for the delivery of the different deliverables in this Tourism Strategy in
terms of timeframes, chronology and order of precedence and sources of funding.

Actions

Action 1.  List all deliverables emerging from the Strategy and present them in terms of funding, timeframes and order of precedence.
 

GOAL 2

Follow up on Goal 1 through the devising of Business Plans and Method Statements for each
funding requirement.

Actions

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Action 1.  Devise specific Business Plans and Method Statements for each identified deliverable as guided by Goal 1.

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GOAL 3

Keep abreast with EU Funding opportunities and instruments in line with the quality,digitalisation, human resource development, sustainable and climate change related thrustemerging from this Strategy. Investigate these opportunities across a wide spectrum rangingfrom the National to those available to Local Councils, NGOs and commercial entities.

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Actions

Action 1.  Maintain contact and enter into continuous discussions with Ministry responsible for EU Funding, Ministry for Finance and other Ministries/Agencies.

Action 2.  Engage EU funding expertise to provide direction to Action 1.

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Strategy 14. To continually monitor international trends and developments in tourism and in sustainable development to ensure that the Maltese Islands remain at the forefront of innovative development and change. To do this by participating actively in international bodies and fora and taking active roles in groups and gatherings discussing the wider elements affecting tourism.

Rationale

Malta can claim an overall success in its seven decades of organised tourism activity on account of the fact that it has always been capable of adapting to innovative trends and demands so as to extend its life cycle again and again.

This success has been made possible by a combination of the destination’s versatility and diversity in terms of what it can offer tourists coupled with the local tourism industry’s ability to embrace innovation and create new products and experiences to ensure that tourism demand to Malta and Gozo remains strong.

Such an approach has made it possible for a small, and superficially limited destination to continue to
compete aggressively and successfully in an increasingly competitive international marketplace.
Due to this historic success Malta has, over the years, evolved from a British summer-sun beach destination into a year-round destination attracting different age-groups from different countries and with different interests arriving during all twelve months of the year. This did not happen haphazardly or coincidentally but arose from the fact that both the destination and the industry have always been receptive at changing demands and have proven to be very willing to introduce new tourism experiences over the passage of time.

In recent years the industry has witnessed the multiple phenomena of rapid change coupled with
a demand for a proliferation of micro tourism products and experiences. Such a situation is probably
driven by a more experienced cohort of experienced travellers armed with the power of the widespread
information and knowledge at their fingertips. A destination needs to be very much aware of these
changes and seek ways to adapt its offer in response to them if it is to remain relevant.

This Tourism Strategy to 2030 places a strong emphasis on the concept of sustainability, sustainable
development and adherence to the Sustainable Development Goals. It therefore follows that, as the
destination seeks to continue evolving and innovating in the coming years, it needs to so along the
parameters of sustainability.

A sustainable approach to Malta’s tourism evolution and development is necessary for a number of
reasons. It is primarily based on the understanding that resources are finite and need be used with care.
It is also a response to a constantly growing global awareness of the link between business, leisure and
sustainability and the need for the destination to attract tourism streams on the basis of these attributes.

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Objective

To follow international best practice in sustainable tourism development and management so as to
ensure that Malta moves ahead as a destination which places high emphasis on sustainable innovation
in its offer and tourism approach with the ultimate objective of becoming a leading example of such
practices within the lifetime of this Strategy.

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Goals and Actions

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GOAL 1
Create a dedicated Tourism Research and Development capability tasked primarily with monitoring, assessing and adapting leading tourism development trends and innovations to Malta’s context.

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Actions
 

Action 1.  Build a dedicated Unit within the Malta Tourism Observatory to implement Goal 1.

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GOAL 2

Maintain an active participation in international fora dealing with sustainability inspired innovation.
 

Actions
 

Action 1.  Engage the Unit emerging from Goal 1 with this responsibility.

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GOAL 3

Benchmark progress through the establishment of a Tourism Sustainable Innovation Index.

Actions
 

Action 1.  Develop a Tourism Sustainable Innovation Index for Malta.

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Action 2. Monitor the benchmarking direction forthcoming from the Index.

GOAL 4

Provide information and advice to the Ministry responsible for Tourism, the Malta Tourism Authority and other relevant Ministries and Agencies on international developments and changes to ensure that the country remains at the forefront on sustainable innovative development.

Actions
 

Action 1.  Present a bi-Annual Report on the outcomes of this Strategy to the Parties in Goal 4.

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GOAL 5

Organise regular industry events to sensitise, advise and motivate regulators and operators in terms of developments, changes and opportunities relevant to the successful delivery of this Strategy.

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Actions
 

Action 1.  Regularly present outcomes to select industry stakeholders.

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