Regional branding of the central Mediterranean islands : benefit to the Maltese islands?

Abstract

This research sets out to find if Branding the Maltese Islands as a cluster brand with other Central Mediterranean Islands (Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily) can be beneficial for Malta or not. It aims to do so due to current challenges that the Mediterranean is facing and current discussions by people such as Dr. Talib Rifai (Secretary General of UNWTO) who are emphasizing the need for the Mediterranean to start branding collectively and to start working on co-petition rather than competition in order to create a competitive advantage for the Mediterranean region. This research was aimed at the main stakeholders in the industry in which six questions were asked in an openended interview that was conducted to find out whether or not they believed that it would be beneficial for Malta and why they chose to answer in that way. The stakeholders argued that branding the islands collectively has its pros and cons and the idea is one that can be developed but it is not currently possible to carry out due to a lack of financial and facilitative resources. The stakeholders agree with developing Malta’s brand further to attract more tourists from outside of Europe, but also would like to focus more on the quality of tourists to Malta and not just on the number. They believe that the Maltese Islands have a lot to offer and that it can differentiate itself from its competitors by focusing on its history and heritage, culture and hospitality, which they believe are Malta’s strongest characteristics. Once the government has more resources and better financial allocation towards branding the Maltese islands, branding collectively with other central Mediterranean islands could be possible. Therefore, overall, branding the Islands collectively would be mostly beneficial tourist-wise, but not beneficial financially in Malta’s current state.