Managing Catholic churches and sacred sites for protestant visitors to Malta

Abstract

As a consequence of a conference on faith-based tourism to Malta, held on 19-21 October 2017, the niche market for faith-based tourism was officially launched and its existence immediately acknowledged and recognised by the Minster for Tourism of Malta. A working group was formed in order to give shape to this market and to deliver practical solutions, with regard programmes, content, interpretation and management, including earning models. Malta has seen a growth in recent years in faith-based travel and pilgrimage, some of it caused by fear of traveling to destinations which are deemed to have become unsafe. The issue is now to transform this growth based on involuntary opportunism to a conscious resourcefulness, resulting in a sustainable and durable niche market for faith-based tourism. One of these niche markets is Protestants visitors to Catholic churches in Malta.