Empowerment and democratisation as fundamental for tourism management strategies for residents : the case for the small island of Gozo

Abstract

Introduction: This paper will take a micro perspective focusing on the residents’ attitudes towards development, which is considered to be due to tourism, on the island of Gozo. Gozo forms part of the Maltese Islands archipelago and is taken as a case study of the 3000 Mediterranean Islands. As in other islands, over the last decade the Maltese islands have seen substantial growth in tourism volumes: between 2010 and 2018 incoming tourism to the 316 square metre Maltese Islands nearly doubled, increasing from 1.33 million to 2.59 million during that period, at an average annual rate of 8.7% per annum. In 2019 the record of 2.75 million was reached (NSO, 2020). However, Gozo tended to lean towards a negative development imbalance in contrast to the main island. Out of the tourism arrivals bed nights to the Maltese islands in 2020, 5% were spent in Gozo and/or Comino. This decreased to 3.9% in 2022. A decrease in per capita expenditure was also noted over the same period. (National Tourism Survey, Regional Report NSO 2023).