The Maltese tourist : a sociological inquiry

Abstract

This study focuses on some aspects of tourism travel. Specifically it aims to explore the reasons that drive Maltese people to take trips for reasons of leisure away from these shores. It is a sociological inquiry of the Maltese Tourist. The notions of globalization and mobility are becoming ever-increasing realities and it is important to view tourism in this context. The central focus of the study is the Maltese Tourist. Chapters 1 and 2 look at the available literature on the subject of tourism and the structures that have shaped the tourist. Two factors are necessary for tourism to be present at all. First of all one must have time away from the workplace and secondly travel requires disposable income to finance a trip. The study employs two approaches: firstly the critique of contemporary life, specifically after Bauman (1998) together with Graburn's (1995) sacred/profane model. Secondly it uses the symbolic interactionist approach which posits that actors define the situation and act accordingly. Ten in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted and questions were centred around prepared topics. All interviews were recorded and transcribed. Questions covered topics such as countries visited, length of stay, the role of advertising and the influence wielded by the presence of tourists in Malta.