The impacts of Valletta 2018 on the tourism sector : Malta Tourism Authority

Abstract

This research study attempts to measure the impact of Valletta 2018 on the tourism sector in Malta. This report is divided into four sections. Part 1 focuses on Malta’s tourism performance covering the period 2017 to 2018. The figures are based on the latest available official statistics as at 7th November 2018. Part 2 provides a detailed explanation of the impact of Valletta 2018 on tourism performance. The impact assessment primarily looks at tourists’ awareness levels of the event followed by tourism activity generated directly by Valletta 2018, i.e., the number of tourists attracted to Malta and the resulting guest nights and tourist expenditure generated. The estimates are mainly based on indicators originating from continuous surveys carried out by the MTA, namely the Traveller Survey and the Heritage Locality Survey. Part 3 looks at the relevance of ‘culture’ as a pull factor for tourists visiting Malta. The methodology adopted allows for the differentiation between tourists who are ‘greatly motivated’ by culture and those who are only ‘motivated in part’. Part 4 focuses on tourism activity in Valletta namely visitor flows, sites and attractions visited and visitor impressions of Valletta. This section also looks at the profile of tourists who opt to stay in accommodation establishments in Valletta. The concluding remarks at the end of the report provide a short synthesis of the main findings.