Malta Statement Based on Ensuring a Sustainable Tourism Experience
The recent conference and study visit organized by the European Union of Tourism Officers to Malta and Gozo, part funded through Leonardo da Vinci mobility financing, focused on achieving a positive experience from any tourism related activity. Sustainability has been described as that policy or strategy which meets the needs of both the host community as well as the visitor, but there are different methods of implementing any sustainable tourism policy according to the agendas of the various players - whether these are politically, economically or socially motivated. Many a time the result is a product or service that lacks the unique or distinct characteristic of the destination.
Incoming President, Ms. Liz Buchanan, who is also CEO for TBT in Scotland, expressed great satisfaction at the way the week long visit brought with it an amount of best practice and exchange of ideas; during the final study workshop at the Limestone Heritage, a project that was part funded through the European Union and which transformed an old limestone quarry into an interesting and varied attraction about the skills and crafts of builders and stone masons in Malta, Ms. Buchanan chaired a very vibrant discussion about the issues and recommendations for a final declaration.
The key points of this declaration which EUTO is, henceforth, calling the Malta Statement are:
1. Tourism should be value driven.
2. Any product needs to be authentic and distinct in character.
3. Transportation, whether by air, sea or land needs to be sustainable.
4. There needs to be more awareness in changes in population attitudes and trends
5. Adequate Public sector investments.
The Malta Statement constitutes a document that EUTO feels should form the basis for any successful tourism destination in terms of both competition as well as sustainable development.
EUTO would like to remind all those involved in the management of strategy, policy or operations within all sectors of the tourism industry that inclusivity, diversity and constant innovation are key factors in ensuring a complete experience by tourists within the European and worldwide area.
The Malta Statement as agreed by all those delegates, members of EUTO, during the Study Visit and Conference to Malta and Gozo (22nd to 29th October 2006) is as follows:
Developing Sustainable Tourism
Statement from European Union of Tourist Officers
In 2003, the European Commission called for an EU-wide drive to enhance the economic, social and environmental sustainability of European tourism. Launched in Brussels, 21st November 2003,
the Communication "Basic orientations for the sustainability of European tourism" emphasised the need to ensure the consistency of various Community policies and measures affecting the sustainability of tourism and the competitiveness of the industry. It also called for pro-active co-operation among tourism enterprises, tourist destinations and national, regional and local authorities to address challenges such as growing demand and changing preferences whilst at the same time increasing revenues.
Set against this background and the position that Europe holds within world tourism arrivals where it continues to lose market share and growth is less than in all other regions of the world, the European Union of Tourist Officers (EUTO), during a Study Visit to Malta and Gozo, produced the following statement on the way forward for sustainable development of tourism. Implicit in this statement is the importance of all aspects of quality in the production of economic, social and environmental benefits at local, regional and national level.
EUTO actively supports the sustainable development of each destination through its people, public bodies and tourism infrastructure, by:
· The generation of value, rather than volume, of tourism
· Measures to protect and enhance the product and highlight the authentic and the unique
· Measures to encourage transport, product and service providers and promoters, together with visitors and host communities, to take account of any negative impact on the environment and take steps to limit that impact where practicable.
· Further research into tourism trends and the impacts of tourism
· The application of wider intelligence to enable accurate forecasting and appropriate development e.g. population movement, climate change, demographic changes
· Public sector investment in appropriate infrastructure to create and support the right conditions for sustainable growth of tourism
EUTO strongly encourages all parties:
· to cherish and promote their natural, built and human heritage
· to value, manage and conserve resources and assets, minimising the negative impact of tourism on host communities and the built and natural environment;
· to protect the environment, on which so much of our product depends, for this and future generations;
· to investigate, meet and exceed visitor expectations and develop the quality of the product to encourage visitors to stay longer and spend more
· to ensure that host communities are actively included in the process of developing and sustaining tourism in their destination
· to research, target and exploit their most appropriate markets for the benefits of host communities
· to provide and evaluate the necessary training opportunities to produce the right people with the right skills and attitudes to deliver the right product to meet and exceed visitor expectations
· to adopt a "whole destination" approach to visitor management
· to make the most efficient and integrated use of public and private resources
· to stimulate the seasonal and geographic spread of visitors to maximise the benefits and minimise the detrimental impacts of tourism
· to press for realistic public funding to deliver these actions
As a result, visitors and host communities may continue to enjoy, learn about and pass on those assets to succeeding generations and the industry may continue to prosper. EUTO intends to play an active role in realising these aims by working with all relevant agencies and organisations. |
