Tourism, real estate, and urban pressures : the case of Marsascala, Malta

Abstract

This paper examines the urban transformation of Marsascala, a coastal town in Malta, through the lens of tourism development and its social repercussions. Engaging with Young’s (1983) model of touristization and landscape change, and drawing from qualitative interviews, field observations, orthophoto analysis, and secondary data, the study traces the town’s evolution from a fishing village to a site of intensive tourism consolidation. Findings reveal how population growth—driven by tourism and foreign labour—has led to overdevelopment, infrastructural strain, and a declining quality of life. Building on empirical insights, the authors propose a novel seventh stage in Young’s model: real estateisation, wherein real estate speculation and short-term rentals reconfigure coastal localities beyond tourism. Marsascala thus becomes a case study in understanding the entanglements between tourism, migration, housing, and urban change. The paper contributes to debates on sustainable tourism, the Blue Economy, and the need for integrated social impact assessments in coastal governance. This paper is linked to the EU Cost Action CA221222 Rethinking the Blue Economy: Socio-Ecological Impacts and Opportunities (RethinkBlue), in relation to the themes covered by Working Group 3 - Port cities & coastal communities.