Cultural tourism development in Gozo : lessons from Malta

Abstract

Throughout the Western World cultural tourism is increasing. In contrast to sun, sea and sand tourists, cultural tourists are interested in monuments, natural environment and customs that are different from those with which they are familiar. This trend is also reflected in Malta and Gozo. Compared to tourists in 1991, summer visitors in 1993 were more interested in cultural events, village festas, light entertainment, water sports and sea cruises.Gozo has always been a destination for cultural tourists. In 1993 roughly 700,000 foreigners and some 400,000 Maltese visited the island. Most were day trippers, but increasing numbers of foreign holiday makers were spending more time on Gozo. Thus the total visitor traffic to Gozo exceeds that to Malta. Because of the overall growth of cultural tourism, the proportion of tourists visiting Gozo in future will probably grow faster than the rate of increase for the Maltese islands as a whole. This means that it is important to look more closely at the impact of cultural tourists. Is cultural tourism sustainable?