Malta as a wedding destination for the LGBT community

Abstract

This long essay explores the emergence of the fastest- growing market in the tourism industry-LGBT tourism. It studies Malta’s potential of becoming an internationally known LGBT wedding destination for Civil Unions. Many advancements have recently been made setting Malta at the top of ILGAs Rainbow Map, and making this more significant to the tourism sector.

This study was conducted through both inductive and deductive reasoning, in order to explore diverse participant views. Three interviews were conducted with local organizations supporting LGBT individuals in Malta, to gain an insight on social attitudes and the ‘pink market’ from a local point of view. Surveys with the Maltese LGBT community, were conducted to voice opinions and generate ideas on improving Malta’s current situation. Surveys with local wedding consultants who specialize in foreign LGBT clients were also targeted as well as an online survey aimed towards foreign LGBT individuals. This research revealed that this is an underutilized market with great potential which would extensively benefit Malta’s economy and other key players. Moreover, it expressed that this destination lacks LGBT welcoming qualities which if developed, could strengthen Malta’s tourism product significantly and inclusively across the whole spectrum of society.