Management of coastal recreational resources : beaches, yacht marinas and coastal eco-tourism

Abstract

Between October 20 and 23, the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Insular Coastal Dynamics (ICOD), which forms part of the University's Foundation for International Studies (FIS), based in Valletta, organised the first international conference on what has become a bone of contention in many countries today - coastal recreation. The conference was intended mainly to study the adverse impacts of ill-planned tourism on environmental quality and, conversely, the dependence of tourism on a well-managed environment. Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech (his ministry was one of the conference sponsors), in his opening speech, highlighted the slew of daunting challenges facing coastal managers in this country, such as the need to identify alternative yacht marina sites (Malta currently has just 1,700 berthing sites) to complement activities such as the Middle Sea Race, etc.