Maltese responses to tourism

This study of residents’ responses to tourism in the Maltese islands adopts a contextual rather than tourism-centric approach, with responses related to the sociocultural and political setting as well as to tourism development. Scattered published sources are brought together and analyzed to develop a new research agenda. Several forms of response among the Maltese are examined, including attitudes to tourism’s general and specific impacts, and protest action against its schemes. The study shows that after the mid-80s some people’s views about the industry became more negative. Consideration is given to likely influences on the continuities and changes in responses since the 60s.