How do island archipelagos mitigate seasonality patterns? Through ecotourism.
Dr Karl Agius and Dr Michael Briguglio from the University's Department of Sociology has recently published a paper called in the peer-reviewed scholarly journal, Maritime Studies to explain this phenomenon.
Due to their insularity and small economics, several islands have become reliant on tourism activity for the livelihood of their communities, with seasonality being very real.
Fieldwork, including interviews with key stakeholders and ecotours off-season, was conducted in the Aegadian Archipelago off the west coast of Sicily, with findings revealing that ecotourism is not only the preferred alternative form of tourism among stakeholders, but it is also possible and ideal.
This is because different ecotourism activities can be practised all year round. In return, this can help ease the financial, social and environmental challenges associated with current tourism models. Marine ecotourism is considered as a means to give more value to marine protected areas.
The research can be explored in more detail .
