Sustainable Tourism - the context of small islands, making special
reference to the Maltese Islands.
Sustainable development is defined in the Brundtland Report of 1987 as “development that meets
the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs”. The three pillars of sustainability are social, economic and environmental. If one pillar is
weak, it means that the whole system is unsustainable. Sustainable tourism is a term which
emerged from sustainable development and aims to balance out the positive from the economic
pillar and the negativity from the environmental and social aspects. Small islands tend to use their
natural environment and historical and cultural heritage as a resource to promote tourism and
often end up economically dependent upon this sector. The need to protect and sustain their
natural and cultural assets becomes of the utmost importance in terms of the country’s economy.
In tourism, small islands states, being mostly located in tropical or temperate climates, have an
advantage over bigger continental countries because of their many beautiful natural attractions,
climate and also unique local cultures which attract many visitors.
Sustainable tourism is important for any tourist destination, however it is even more so for small
islands where tourists densities are high and the carrying capacity of the island low. In many cases,
tourism ends up being a good sector on which these small states invest heavily on because of its
economic viability. However when it comes to the environment and social dimensions, it can
become costly and damaging if appropriate attention is not given. Sustainable tourism therefore
aims to minimise these negative impacts of touristic development on the environment and local
culture so that they will still be available for current and future generations. Despite the fact that
tourism often leads to environmental degradation, many island states cannot substitute this form
of economic activity without great economic hardship (Briguglio & Briguglio , Sustainable Tourism
in small islands, 1996). The only solution to this is to find a balance between investing in the
tourism sector and protecting the natural environment and socio-cultural traditions of the
country.
Tourism is often promoted as a great benefit for the economic development of any country. This
perception comes from the fact that tourism is not only a great economic benefit in its own self
but it also stimulates the development of other economic sectors, like agriculture, manufacturing
and retail. In Malta, tourism contributes directly to about 13% of the national GDP (WTTC, 2014).
Small islands states tend to depend on tourism more than larger countries. This is because they
tend to have limited resources which make it hard to compete with bigger countries in most other
sectors of the economy. The tourism sector is the only sector of the economy in which small islands
tend to be superior to larger countries and it becomes of great importance in terms of both income
and employment generation. Furthermore it provides employment opportunities for a broad
spectrum of members of the community. Opportunities for both genders, for a wide spectrum of
age groups and different educational levels. Nevertheless when it comes to actually measuring
its size and actual contribution to the employment generation of the country, a number of issues
arise. In fact it is not easy to quantify the exact number of people that work in the tourism sector
, since, as already mentioned, this industry overlaps with many other components of the economy
such as agriculture, transport and retail. In fact employment statistics from the National Statistics
Office (NSO) take only into account the employment in hotels and catering establishments
(Ministry for Tourism, National Tourism Policy 2015 -2020, 2015). Tourism offers a lot of services
which cause an indirect economic effect on other industries. These are called inter industry
linkages. For instance tourism is linked with banking. Furthermore tourism does not only create
jobs in the tertiary sector but also in the primary and secondary industries, for example in the
agricultural sector and also in the manufacturing industries. This is called the multiplier effect
since the money spent by tourists circulates throughout the country’s economy. The multiplier
effect continues until eventually the money is leaked out of the country through imports. The
import content of tourism is relatively low since most of it relates to services and therefore stays
in the country’s economy. This makes the contribution to the national GDP higher than other
sectors. Tourism is also a major source of foreign exchange income and also provides the
government with extra tax revenues.
For Malta tourism is a very important economic sector, and any negative effects to this industry
would have great repercussions on the overall economy of the country. Tourism follows a
“product life cycle” and hence faces a final stage of decline, where the destination no longer offers
new attractions (Rusu, 2014). Sometimes tourist numbers can be adversely affected by events
beyond the control of the destination like in the case of terrorism attacks or natural disasters.
Climate change is another major issue for small islands. Coastal areas of small islands are often
the busiest since infrastructures to cater for tourists are usually build along the coast and any sea
level rise could have major impacts which would negatively affect the economy of the country.
Adaptation measures for any possible sea level rise need to be implemented. An integrated spatial
coastal management plan is essential so as to sustain the development of these areas. Some low
lying coastal areas would be lost including natural attractions and beaches. Whole low lying islands
are threatened to disappear should the sea level rise.
Another important aspect related to tourism is that it has many hidden costs which are not taken
note of when calculating the economical contribution to the country, like transport and road costs.
If these hidden costs are taken in consideration, the real contribution of the tourism industry
would be much less then that reported. The same can be argued for employment rates. While it
is true that tourism generates new employment opportunities, most of these jobs are seasonal
and poorly paid. Increasing off-peak attractions is a must to keep the jobs going all year round.
Malta does very well in the off-peak season when compared to other Mediterranean countries
(WTTC, 2014). Another negative aspect is that increasing demands for services and goods from
tourists cause raised prices for local residents who are also faced with these higher costs. Same
applies in the real estate industry, were building costs and land value tend to increase in tourist
areas. The government is induced to invest lots of money in improving infrastructures such as
better sewage and water systems, transport facilities, electricity and recreational areas in order to
cater for the tourist industry. A positive aspect is that local communities benefit from these
facilities as well, improving their quality of life. However the massive tourist densities creates a
lot of pressure for new infrastructures to cater for the needs of these visitors which end up also
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reference to the Maltese Islands.
Sustainable development is defined in the Brundtland Report of 1987 as “development that meets
the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs”. The three pillars of sustainability are social, economic and environmental. If one pillar is
weak, it means that the whole system is unsustainable. Sustainable tourism is a term which
emerged from sustainable development and aims to balance out the positive from the economic
pillar and the negativity from the environmental and social aspects. Small islands tend to use their
natural environment and historical and cultural heritage as a resource to promote tourism and
often end up economically dependent upon this sector. The need to protect and sustain their
natural and cultural assets becomes of the utmost importance in terms of the country’s economy.
In tourism, small islands states, being mostly located in tropical or temperate climates, have an
advantage over bigger continental countries because of their many beautiful natural attractions,
climate and also unique local cultures which attract many visitors.
Sustainable tourism is important for any tourist destination, however it is even more so for small
islands where tourists densities are high and the carrying capacity of the island low. In many cases,
tourism ends up being a good sector on which these small states invest heavily on because of its
economic viability. However when it comes to the environment and social dimensions, it can
become costly and damaging if appropriate attention is not given. Sustainable tourism therefore
aims to minimise these negative impacts of touristic development on the environment and local
culture so that they will still be available for current and future generations. Despite the fact that
tourism often leads to environmental degradation, many island states cannot substitute this form
of economic activity without great economic hardship (Briguglio & Briguglio , Sustainable Tourism
in small islands, 1996). The only solution to this is to find a balance between investing in the
tourism sector and protecting the natural environment and socio-cultural traditions of the
country.
Tourism is often promoted as a great benefit for the economic development of any country. This
perception comes from the fact that tourism is not only a great economic benefit in its own self
but it also stimulates the development of other economic sectors, like agriculture, manufacturing
and retail. In Malta, tourism contributes directly to about 13% of the national GDP (WTTC, 2014).
Small islands states tend to depend on tourism more than larger countries. This is because they
tend to have limited resources which make it hard to compete with bigger countries in most other
sectors of the economy. The tourism sector is the only sector of the economy in which small islands
tend to be superior to larger countries and it becomes of great importance in terms of both income
and employment generation. Furthermore it provides employment opportunities for a broad
spectrum of members of the community. Opportunities for both genders, for a wide spectrum of
age groups and different educational levels. Nevertheless when it comes to actually measuring
its size and actual contribution to the employment generation of the country, a number of issues
arise. In fact it is not easy to quantify the exact number of people that work in the tourism sector
, since, as already mentioned, this industry overlaps with many other components of the economy
such as agriculture, transport and retail. In fact employment statistics from the National Statistics
Office (NSO) take only into account the employment in hotels and catering establishments
(Ministry for Tourism, National Tourism Policy 2015 -2020, 2015). Tourism offers a lot of services
which cause an indirect economic effect on other industries. These are called inter industry
linkages. For instance tourism is linked with banking. Furthermore tourism does not only create
jobs in the tertiary sector but also in the primary and secondary industries, for example in the
agricultural sector and also in the manufacturing industries. This is called the multiplier effect
since the money spent by tourists circulates throughout the country’s economy. The multiplier
effect continues until eventually the money is leaked out of the country through imports. The
import content of tourism is relatively low since most of it relates to services and therefore stays
in the country’s economy. This makes the contribution to the national GDP higher than other
sectors. Tourism is also a major source of foreign exchange income and also provides the
government with extra tax revenues.
For Malta tourism is a very important economic sector, and any negative effects to this industry
would have great repercussions on the overall economy of the country. Tourism follows a
“product life cycle” and hence faces a final stage of decline, where the destination no longer offers
new attractions (Rusu, 2014). Sometimes tourist numbers can be adversely affected by events
beyond the control of the destination like in the case of terrorism attacks or natural disasters.
Climate change is another major issue for small islands. Coastal areas of small islands are often
the busiest since infrastructures to cater for tourists are usually build along the coast and any sea
level rise could have major impacts which would negatively affect the economy of the country.
Adaptation measures for any possible sea level rise need to be implemented. An integrated spatial
coastal management plan is essential so as to sustain the development of these areas. Some low
lying coastal areas would be lost including natural attractions and beaches. Whole low lying islands
are threatened to disappear should the sea level rise.
Another important aspect related to tourism is that it has many hidden costs which are not taken
note of when calculating the economical contribution to the country, like transport and road costs.
If these hidden costs are taken in consideration, the real contribution of the tourism industry
would be much less then that reported. The same can be argued for employment rates. While it
is true that tourism generates new employment opportunities, most of these jobs are seasonal
and poorly paid. Increasing off-peak attractions is a must to keep the jobs going all year round.
Malta does very well in the off-peak season when compared to other Mediterranean countries
(WTTC, 2014). Another negative aspect is that increasing demands for services and goods from
tourists cause raised prices for local residents who are also faced with these higher costs. Same
applies in the real estate industry, were building costs and land value tend to increase in tourist
areas. The government is induced to invest lots of money in improving infrastructures such as
better sewage and water systems, transport facilities, electricity and recreational areas in order to
cater for the tourist industry. A positive aspect is that local communities benefit from these
facilities as well, improving their quality of life. However the massive tourist densities creates a
lot of pressure for new infrastructures to cater for the needs of these visitors which end up also
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