RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A BETTER VISITOR EXPERIENCE PART 2

Mdina – The Silent City?

When Professor Boissevain and Dr Sammut first presented their study on the impact of tourism on the resident population in Mdina (1995) to the National Tourism Organisation of Malta some of us were shocked that we had developed this Frankenstein creature called tourism. Mdina had become an iconic site that visitors were forced to visit as part of a tour programme devised in some back office by the tour operator. But Mdina is more than just an iconic site; it is synonymous with all that is Maltese in terms of culture, history and character. Here are just a few examples about how we can improve this town as a sustainable and quality site:

1. We need to have a strong management programme for tours to this town. This needs to be devised by academics (the University had developed the Heland Project including an interesting application for this town); practitioners and the local community.

2. We should ensure that numbers to the town are controlled (not capped) to ensure that visitors get the right experience.

3. Individual visitors and groups should be directed to a visitors’ centre, reception and interpretation centre before progressing into the town.

4. A Code of Ethics needs to be written up for all tour operators and guides to ensure visitors to the town behave correctly.

5. We should plan an events programme consisting of heritage and cultural activities such as concerts, artisan and melitensia fairs and pageantry that are professionally curated.

6. Finally, animated tours by trained and committed guides specialising in this site should be encouraged.

In my next article I will discuss the sense about reopening tourism sensibly and sustainably and I will look at how we can manage community-based tourism as an alternative market now that the trend is changing for sun and sea and holidays abroad.