Promoting Gozo as a quality tourism destination

Abstract

The tourism industry is being exploited by many countries and is regarded as a very profitable industry which one should really consider for means of economic growth. It is one of the main pillars for the Maltese economy and this was due to the favourable weather and the picturesque beaches that Malta boasts of. In recent years, many countries opted to invest in the tourism sector to try and attract as many tourists as possible, which means that the competition in the industry is increasing rapidly, and the Maltese Islands couldn’t keep relying on the ‘sun and sea’ market to attract tourists. Therefore, involved entities have been thinking outside the box to exploit new segments to keep attracting tourists and keep improving Malta’s tourism product.

From various statistics and studies, Gozo realized that it has the potential to attract a different type of tourist. Having a quiet and serene environment, with a lot of rural areas still untouched, Gozo identified potential to attract what are called quality tourists. It looks like this is the way forward for tourism in Gozo and the Ministry for Gozo together with other entities are trying to exploit new segments which fall under the category of ‘quality tourism’.

This dissertation will analyse the true potential that Gozo has in attracting such tourists, whilst also analysing what type of tourists are currently visiting the Island. This market segment can be extremely profitable and the fact that Gozo are working on this segment is already a positive sign.