Impact travel blogs have on cultural tourists in Malta

Abstract

Blogs are becoming ever more important sources of information in the tourism market. This long essay aims to explore how blogs are describing cultural sites in Malta, and how they are impacting cultural tourists and what level of trust/credibility cultural tourists hold for travel blogs. Twenty travel blogs content about Malta were analysed along with questionnaires answered by tourists. Research indicates that travel blogs give much importance to cultural tourism related to Malta’s destination image and that travel blogs are a frequently used source of information with cultural tourists coming to Malta. Furthermore, this study shows that travel blogs promote a wide range of cultural sites; however, it also reveals that many blogs lack a critical discussion of the blogger’s experience on site. An issue identified in blog analysis with some of Malta’s cultural sites, is the issue of accessibility, which might impact satisfaction levels amongst cultural tourists, hence a recommendation is to focus on addressing this deficit at cultural sites. Comments made in travel blogs about Malta’s supporting tourism experience were also analysed, the results suggesting that many are satisfied with the locals’ hospitality. However there were negative comments also related to the traffic and the cleanliness situation in Malta. A factor which contributes to this outcome is the constant increase in pressure on Malta’s carrying capacity; hence a recommendation to Malta tourism authorities is to focus more on attracting quality tourists rather than the quantities.