Origin and development of British tourism in Malta : from independence to present day

Abstract

The following research paper focuses on the origin and development of the United Kingdom (henceforth UK) market as part of Malta’s inbound tourism. A holistic approach will be taken in order to understand the UK market by tracing the historical connections, outcomes and ramifications of historical events, general characteristics, push and pull factors, the profile of UK tourists, historical and emerging trends, and lastly it will explore the possible ramifications of the Brexit referendum on the UK outbound market. This paper takes a closer look at the patterns and flows of the aforementioned market. The literature review looks into the available research on the historic establishment and fluctuations of the British market. The research is executed through a mixed method approach whereby a desktop analysis is carried out as a historical analysis of literature was accompanied with an analysis and interpretation of inbound tourism statistics. This approach served as a means of obtaining an overview of the source market. Pertinent literature has been identified and reviewed through the exploratory approach while semi-structures interviews were held with key stakeholders such as employees the Malta Tourism Authority (henceforth MTA). This adds depth, authenticity, and a higher level of credibility to this research.