A change process for the Tourism Undergraduate Programme of the University of Malta

Success in tourism depends on having tourism practitioners who are well prepared. The ITTC is instrumental in preparing Malta’s tourism practitioners of the future. The ITTC prepares practitioners who will be able to work in tourism, culture and related industries. The Institute for Tourism, Travel and Culture (ITTC) has recently concluded the Periodic Programme Review (PPR) for the tourism studies undergraduate programme. In this brief report, we explain the process. We also highlight some of the main issues that emerged and explain how these were addressed. This report will be presented in a seminar for stakeholders that will be held on 24 January 2020.peer-reviewe

The Maltese gift : tourist encounters with the self and the other in later life

This thesis takes a case study approach of the tourist-host encounter in the Maltese Islands, an ex-British Colony and older British tourists (OBTs). OBTs are an important source market for tourism as this is set to grow in volume and propensity. The research investigates how OBTs negotiate identity and memory through their narratives. It does so by examining what is being transacted at a social, cultural and symbolic level between the Maltese and the OBT. It then enquires as to the extent the previous colonial relationship is influencing the present ex-colonial and neocolonial Anglo-Maltese tourist encounter. The ethnographic study employs a two-pronged strategy. The first interrogates the terms under which spatial and temporal dimensions of the cultural production of the post colony, and the ongoing representations of specific spaces and experiences, are circulated and interpreted by these tourists. The second examines the relationship through the ‘exchange lens' which is manifested along social and cultural lines within the Maltese tourism landscape context. The research indicates that older adult British visitors have a ‘love’ for the island, which is reciprocated by the Maltese Anglophiles, in spite of some tensions between the two nations in the past. The relationship extends beyond a simple economic transaction but is based on more of a social, symbolic and cultural exchange. This research is one of the first to examine the phenomenon of non-economic capital and gift exchange and the role exchange plays in building relationships at the tourist-host interface. The study concludes that the value, which is placed on the gifts, or capital which are generated or exchanged through the tourist encounter, encourages further visits to the island. Much of this value is based on the significance of Empire to the OBTs who re-discover lost traces of Britishness in Malta through experiencing Anglo-Maltese cultural hybridity. It also advances the view that tourism is really about the self rather than the other - or, at least, that the other is in some senses a mirror of the self

Has overtourism reached the Maltese Islands?

Tourism is often considered as a desirable activity for the visitors, in terms of recreation, adventure, cultural enhancement and other benefits of travel, and for the host community mostly in terms of the income and employment it generates. With improvements in income and decreases in the cost of travelling, tourism has increased rapidly over the past decades, and in many destinations, the host communities have started to experience the negative side of high rates of tourist inflows, mostly arising from overcrowding, traffic congestion, misbehaviour by visitors and damage to the physical environment. In 2017 and 2018 there were several reports in the media and papers in many academic journals describing the exasperation of the local residents with what became known as ‘overtourism’ – signifying that there are too many visitors to a particular destination at the same time. The objectives of this paper are two-fold, namely (a) to present a literature review on the upsides and downsides of tourism and (b) to assess, by means of a survey, the attitudes towards tourism in Malta, so as to consider whether Malta has reached the stage of ‘overtourism’. The main conclusion of the paper is that overtourism can lead to various social and environmental pitfalls which could outweigh the economic benefits of tourism for the host community. The responses to this survey indicate that this is the situation in Malta at present.peer-reviewe

Young people and the 'Festa' in Malta

Preparation and participation in community events such as the festa, serve to convey meanings and expose values held by individuals as well as communities. This paper, through an exploratory pilot study, analyses the attitudes and perceptions of youth towards the festa as a medium of expressing cultural identity. However as the success of the festa and other religious events such as the Good Friday procession tend to be evaluated by the amount of tourists and visitors which attend, one must also be aware that ‘commoditisation of culture in effect robs people of the very meanings by which they organise their lives’ (Greenwood, 1989, p.179). Although one can argue that the authenticity of the occasion is diluted because of over-commercialisation, the study concludes that young people’s membership in local festa–oriented organisations as well as the festa itself, showcase the cultural identity, heritage and creative spirit which is an expression of Maltese youth.peer-reviewe

Encoding and Interpreting Neolithic Sites: World Heritage Temples in Malta

Understanding and interpreting landscapes entails the encoding of symbols and deciphering of codes left on the palimpsest. Interpreting the Neolithic and more significantly Neolithic temple sites, is challenging and rife with contested meanings. The overall landscape is used by adherents of the New Religious Movements, on faith-based visits, and as an extension, spiritual fulfilment is sought in the Neolithic temples of Malta. The same landscape is then part of both the inner and outer pilgrimage in the context of not only the modern designer religions, but also of the established religions. This paper presents a case study of the Neolithic temple sites located in the Maltese Islands, which are significantly located at the centre of the Mediterranean Sea. The paper suggests that although these are shared spaces they are also contested space as the interpretation of these sites are firmly biased

An enabling framework for telework

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The shift to a digital knowledge-based economy was marked in Europe by a report on the status of “eWork" development. The beginning of this new phase in Europe was ushered in with a new common policy framework: the agreements at the Lisbon Summit in March 2000, when it was agreed to make Europe "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy, capable of sustained economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion". Since then substantial progress was made towards this goal through implementation of the e-Europe Action Plan agreed to in June 2000. Part of the broader scope of eWork included the continued development of Telework, with its proven benefits of flexibility in time and place. In Malta too, awareness and interest is growing in new working practices which have mainly come about due to technological advances especially in the ICT sector. Participation in new working practices, with particular reference to Telework will only come about: 1. By evaluating the status quo in Malta and beyond our shores 2. A wide dissemination of information about the subject especially relating to Best Practice 3. Debate and consensus building amongst stakeholders and social partners 4. Successful pilot studies or case studies 5. Acceptable and Enforceable Controls The ultimate aim of this report will be to recommend national reforms which will be needed for Telework to become a feasible option for persons and organizations wishing to use it.Employment and Training Corporation, Hal Farpeer-reviewe

Encoding and interpreting neolithic sites : world heritage temples in Malta

Understanding and interpreting landscapes entails the encoding of symbols and deciphering of codes left on the palimpsest. Interpreting the Neolithic and more significantly Neolithic temple sites, is challenging and rife with contested meanings. The overall landscape is used by adherents of the New Religious Movements, on faithbased visits, and as an extension, spiritual fulfilment is sought in the Neolithic temples of Malta. The same landscape is then part of both the inner and outer pilgrimage in the context of not only the modern designer religions, but also of the established religions. This paper presents a case study of the Neolithic temple sites located in the Maltese Islands, which are significantly located at the centre of the Mediterranean Sea. The paper suggests that although these are shared spaces they are also contested space as the interpretation of these sites are firmly biased.peer-reviewe

Negotiating a postmemory dichotomy : nostalgia and aversion in Malta

The island of Malta has served as a strategic colony since the dawn of history. Since Phoenician and Roman times, the island has been an important base in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Its last colonisers, the British, spent about 180 years using the islands for their imperial needs. The official closing of the British base on 31 March 1979 heralded a new economic and social reality supposedly unhampered by the exigencies of foreigners. Two major post-memory reactions kicked in – nostalgia and aversion to ex-colonial life. The postcolonial Maltese generations exhibit a range of reactions oscillating between love and hate for the British. On the other hand, British ex-service personnel and their families have continued to feel an affinity with the island base which they had come to acknowledge as a second home. This allows for a new type of relationship between the Maltese people and their British visitors where issues of colonial post-memory are negotiated. These are seen at their best in the local tourism industry. Malta woos British tourists and goes to great effort to attract them. It uses to its advantage the colonial affinity to create an attractive destination for the British which benefits the locals and the Maltese economy. In Malta post-memory has evolved in line with necessity and expediency, where animosity, though manifestly tangible, has gradually morphed into a rather benign residue in the collective reaction to the colonial past.peer-reviewe

De centauros y otras criaturas en el fantástico rioplatense

The centaur, which is the most harmonious being of fantastic zoology symbolizing a rustic barbarity and the ire, according to the definition given in the Book of Imaginary Beings by Borges and Guerrero (1957) is a figure that hasn't received the right attention. In this analysis I propose some Rioplatense writers' tales in which there is this myth. In particular: “Los caballos de Abdera” by Lugones, “El alambre de púa” by Quiroga, “El centauro” by Wilcock, “Aballay” by Di Benedetto y “Díptico del centauro” by Campra.El centauro, figura que no ha recibido suficiente atención por la crítica, es, según la definición que ofrecen Borges y Guerrero en el Manual de zoología fantástica (1957), la criatura más armoniosa de la zoología fantástica en la que están simbolizadas la rústica barbarie y la ira. El análisis comparado que propongo entre algunos cuentos en que aparece el centauro permite ver cómo, en cambio, suscitó el interés por parte de algunos autores rioplatenses que escribieron relatos sobre su figura, adaptando y modificando el mito. En particular, se fijará la atención en “Los caballos de Abdera” de Lugones, “El alambre de púa” de Quiroga, “El centauro” de Wilcock, “Aballay” de Di Benedetto y “Díptico del centauro” de Campra