The young Maltese habitual tourist : an exploratory study

Abstract

This study focuses on the incessant need that some young Maltese people have to experience tourism travel. The study investigates the various factors that trigger habitual tourism, the different ways it impacts young Maltese people and the motivations behind their will to actively engage in tourism travel. The study also examines the social influences that lead to such pulls. To this effect a series of semi-structured topic guided interviews were undertaken with ten young Maltese habitual tourists. Respondents were recruited in the study on the basis that they satisfy various criteria including; being within the age bracket of eighteen to thirty years old, and also they had to be involved and/or are constantly motivated to engage in tourism travel. Findings reveal that young Maltese habitual tourists are actively engaging in tourism travel mainly in search for freedom and escapism, to overcome the mundanity of everyday life, to socially interact with different people and to discover; both the world around them and their own self. Tourism travel affected research participants positively as it made them more open to other people and new opportunities. Tourism travel is perceived as an enriching experience which can lead one to actually renegotiate his/her life position. This study also found that young Maltese people are very much influenced by social media, family and/or friends in taking decisions in relation to tourism travel. General practical recommendations were given in order to make sure that all young Maltese people are exposed to tourism travel, and have access to it because of its rich inherent qualities.