Sustainable tourism and its impact on Cittadella, Victoria Gozo

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Sustainable tourism is a modern type of tourism which will hopefully yield better outcomes and less damage to the environment than mass tourism. One must focus on the quality and not on the quantity of tourists. The OBJECTIVE of this dissertation is to analyse the impact that cultural tourism has on the historical walled Town of the Cittadella in Victoria, Gozo. This study is important to identify the tourists' expectations so that one can improve existing facilities and create new ones in order to render the tourists' experience a unique and memorable one. On the other hand the PROBLEM is how to embark on new developments of the site which are sustainable without damaging the environment, the aesthetic appearance of the Cittadella and the private life of the local community of Victoria. The METHOD: First a research review was made on foreign literature regarding the subject of sustainable cultural tourism. Then a similar research was conducted on local publications, reviews and books dealing with tourism and cultural events. Finally a questionnaire was compiled and distributed by hand to 70 tourists happening to be visiting the Cittadella during the month of August 2012. The MAIN OUTCOME was that overcrowding of the site was not a problem at all but still there were several short comings that needed to be tackled in order to present the Cittadella in an excellent condition to the foreign market. The RESULT: Job opportunities for the local community and satisfaction for the tourists. CONCLUSION: The Cittadella has the potential and qualities of attracting more tourists as time passes thus regenerating the industry of tourism in the island of Gozo.