Evaluating the growth of the incoming Chinese tourist market and its potential for Maltese tourism

Abstract

This research paper sets out to explore the recent phenomenon of Chinese outbound tourism and identify Malta’s current position in the market. It also aims to propose a set of marketing strategies for Malta to gain a larger share of this fast-growing market. Research on the travel motivators of the Chinese tourist has previously been carried out, however, being a new source market for Malta, there is no existing literature on the demand-pull factors of Chinese tourists to Malta, which justifies the need for this study. To accomplish the research aim, both primary and secondary data were gathered and analysed to gain a better understanding of the demand and the supply side of this tourism relationship. The secondary data involved a review of pre-existing data from academics and researchers, while the primary data was collected through a series of qualitative interviews with industry experts. The empirical findings of the research give an insight to Malta’s current position within the realm of Chinese outbound tourism. After which, the demand drivers and travel obstacles of Chinese tourism to Malta are identified as well as the profile of the Chinese tourists visiting Malta. These findings lead to the conclusion that Malta is far behind in attracting Chinese tourism. However, the study concludes by proposing a set of efficient marketing strategies to launch in China to position itself favourably. It also points out areas in which Malta can improve its tourism product in order to facilitate more tourist arrivals from China.