In my last article, I wrote about taking our first step towards a tourism activity that will lead to a quality service benefitting all the key stakeholders including the visitor who wants to be here (as opposed to the one who happens to be here because he could not go to Malaga or Greece!); the local community who is not only the main participant in this host – visitor interaction should be the recipient of a quality of life that will effect their social, cultural, economic and infrastructural aspects.

This can only happen if we realize that the “industry” we are promoting today is the remnants of an old and well-used trend that looked at quantity rather than quality and benefitted a few, often unethical businesses and authorities. This means these islands need a change in direction – both in terms of governance as well as in terms of mentality if we are to manage tourism professionally.

This week I was working on the project: Discovering Malta and Gozo through its people and culture – Meet the locals. The project that commenced in 2010 is focussed on creating an alternative attraction and experience for the visitor – it looks at the people, their culture, character, heritage and history; it is a community-based experience that does not look at sights and places but considers the faces, the encounters, the stories and the personal reception.

I did try to visit the itineraries page on the Malta Tourism Authority this week that actually promoted 16 localities and their attractions together with an online map – this page was the result of four years work between 2010-2014 with the respective local councils, stakeholders and students who all contributed to the concept of offering a diverse and added value for the visitors in terms of experience. Unfortunately, this page seems to have been taken off the MTA website – I hope this is a temporary issue and look forward to seeing this page and the data we had put together for the localities there again in the next few weeks.

Managing tourism is not about a top-down autocratic view of operating this activity, neither is it only about counting the footfall from the airport or the various iconic sites, it is about considering the best market, the most appropriate markets and the best visitors for the islands. This can only happen if we adopt the principles for an integrated approach to planning tourism (this I can discuss with the authorities or any stakeholders seperatly from this article; that way we can design a framework for its development and implementation).

This consistent urge over the past nine years to “go for the jackpot” when it comes to measuring success for the tourism industry has shown we are driving blind here, we have no idea of our carrying capacity, we have no idea of the impact these growing numbers have on the social, economic, cultural and infrastructural aspects of the islands and we do not know either the impact that construction has on tourism. We are simply firefighting not managing tourism today.

There are still a few places left for the course, Applied Management of Tourism. Those of you who are interested in enrolling in this accredited course can write to me at: [email protected] or visit the link at https://www.learningworks.edu.mt/courses/catering-and-hospitality/mqf-level-6-award-in-applied-management-of-tourism/.

This can be the start of putting theory and words into practice – let us start rethinking tourism together now.

Recommendations and summary

·       Planning and managing tourism means we need to listen to all stakeholders not simply shoot from the hip.

·      Managing tourism requires a commitment, trust and synergy for all stakeholders including the government.

·      There needs to be a change in direction if we want to rethink, redevelop and restore tourism sustainably and responsibly.

·      Finally, tourism requires a professional approach today more than ever.

Dr Julian Zarb is a researcher, local tourism planning consultant and an Academic at the University of Malta. He has also been appointed as an expert for the High Streets Task Force in the UK. His main area of research is community-based tourism and local tourism planning using the integrated approach.