Reforming Malta’s tourism policy post Covid-19 : a stakeholders’ perspective

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is to establish the need for policy reform in relation to Malta’s tourism policy in a post COVID-19 scenario; particularly for the hospitality sector which was significantly impacted by the said pandemic. In addition to the scholarly literature that was used to collect data, the researcher has also taken a qualitative approach by interviewing a number of stakeholders who possess good knowledge and expertise in the areas of policy-making and tourism. The researcher has analysed their declarations and perspectives on this aspect of policy reformation for Malta’s tourism policy. In this regard, a Stakeholders’ analysis has been formulated. As at July 2021, even though all stakeholders have explained their reasons for agreeing with a policy reformation for Malta’s tourism policy, a level of uncertainty still remains for the hospitality sector and the tourism industry in general. This is because the world is still living in the coronavirus pandemic and therefore it is difficult and challenging for the world to simply assume and predict the future of tourism. An updated tourism policy shows the desired vision for the country’s tourism and this vision is highly required in order for the hospitality sector to overcome the ongoing pandemic. On this note, while there were some of the stakeholders that believe that Malta is showing potential in the area of policy-making and COVID-19 regulations, other stakeholders have outlined a few countries which Malta can refer to as ideal models for policy reformation.