We have been hearing of declining numbers of tourists around the globe. The recession has rubbed itself well into every corner in every village, affecting all the economies, and consequently the tourism scenario in its entirety. Malta is no exception.

Our tourism industry undoubtedly has all the ingredients to be a leader in the Mediterranean. Considering our island’s heritage, culture and other activities offered, we really are at the top of the list. Competition was sharp before the recession, coming both from distant destinations, as well as from comparable resorts in the rest of the Mediterranean, however we are still faring well.

The last couple of years have seen the central government and the Malta Tourism Authority, thanks to the relentless work of parliamentary secretary for tourism Mario De Marco, together with other stakeholders, working hand in hand to improve the product: our culture, our heritage, our environment

We can still do more to offer a better product, although we have succeeded in gaining lots of ground on this issue. What we need to focus more on is tourism of special or particular interest, also known as niche tourism.

Niche tourism, is a concept growing popular in the Western circuit for the last 15 years. It can range from religious tourism, cultural and heritage tourism, adventure tourism, as well as medical tourism and sports.

A good example of this form of tourism is ‘eco-tourism’. The growing concern worldwide over global warming and climate change combined with rising oil prices, the energy crisis and the economic slowdown has led to dramatic changes in tourist attitudes, travel seasonality and other travel trends. It is influencing individual choices regarding travel destinations, the length of trips and other factors such as the availability of environmentally-friendly modes of transport and environmentally-responsible service providers.

This new brand of travellers are also increasingly looking for quality products and experiences that offer value for money, particularly environmentally-friendly travel and tourism related products and services as well as those that enable them to take part in local community activities. I can see Gozo, marketed as planned, as an eco island, that fits perfectly into this picture. It is vital, however, that we retain the cultural value, without giving in to undermining factors such as over development, which poses the real life risk of a place losing its identity in no time.

Sports tourism has not yet been unlocked. It is impressive to see the number of fans that come over whenever the Malta national team or local Maltese teams play a foreign team. This makes us realise how we can bring tourists over with sports as their main interest. Not just that, but we can also explore possibilities of having athletes hailing from the whole sports spectrum coming over for training camps, combined with cultural activities.

Then there is also another nut we can crack: medical tourism. Many west Europeans have started to combine cheap but good quality medical services with spectacular places. This is definitely a market we can tap into. Prices in Malta are sometimes two to three times cheaper than those in England and Germany for example. Medical tourism is a global business that is estimated to be worth around e40 billion a year. The main hubs are presently Asia, India, Hungary and Mexico.

This issue caught my interest after speaking to a colleague of mine at the European parliament. He described his experience of going to a dental surgeon in Croatia through a medical tourism agency, undertaking his treatment, whilst admiring the Adriatic coast and crystal clear sea thereafter. This sector is estimated to have the potential to grow around 20 per cent every year, especially due to the ageing population in the more developed countries. President George Abela, travelled to Doha on a State Visit to the State of Qatar where they met the Amir of the State of Qatar, H.H. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. accompanied by Tonio Borg the Minister for Foreign Affairs. High officials from government entities, constituted bodies and also private companies discussed the possibilities of exploring these unique sectors of tourism, and how both countries can start working together in this respect. This is a step in the right direction; we need more of these visits to build stronger relationships with countries which can collaborate with us in exploring new sectors.

We must do our utmost to explore ways and means of tapping into these niche markets. We have all the pre requisites – it is now time to grab our share of the pie.

David Casa is a Nationalist MEP

[email protected]

www.davidcasa.eu