Exploring the potential of a new niche market of fishing tourism in Malta

Abstract

Fishing tourism is a niche slowly starting to increase in popularity around Europe, especially in countries such as Italy and Greece. This study is concerned with con-ducting an analysis of the fishing tourism industry in Malta, in order to conclude whether there is a potential of forming a Niche Market or not. For the sake of the study, the author went through reviewed relevant literature and conducted the research using a qualitative methodology in the form of in-depth questionnaires and an interview with different fishing boat charter operators in Malta. The results offer an insight to what Malta has to offer with regards to the fishing tourism industry. The results revealed that the country has potential for fishing tour-ism but short-comings in the industry could not be left out. The main recommendations of this research include: increasing government and tourism authority involvement, amendments to the current legislations covering the fishing tourism industry, and also introducing specialized courses and licenses for fishermen interested in entering the fishing tourism industry.