The Heland Project, now in its third year, seeks to achieve balance and sustainability for a better tourism product. Nadia Theuma from the University’s Institute of Tourism, Travel and Culture talks about the project and a set of sustainable indicators that assess and develop more modern tourism-related policies.
Notwithstanding the importance of economic aspects in tourism, these should never be the only ones considered when drafting policies for tourism.
“The overall aim of this project is to formulate a diagnosis, procedures and advanced systems with which to ensure an integrated management and protection of culture, heritage and other historical assets within the countries participating in this project,” said Nadia Theuma from the Institute of Tourism, Travel and Culture at the University of Malta, the local leader of the project.
Financed through the EU’s ENPI CBC Med Programme, the Heland Project is being implemented in collaboration with a number of other entities and educational organisations, such as universities and research centres, from another five countries in the Mediterranean.
“The Mediterranean region is one of the most sought after by tourists. However, it is also a very fragile region due to the high influx of tourists. It also competes with other tourism destinations, so to ensure its attractiveness and safeguard its fragile nature, we need to start looking at our heritage from new perspective and also through the application of new technologies, with which to improve the tourist experience.
“The project will close a gap between research, the industry and policy makers, and when completed, we will be in a better position to assess how best to strengthen our innovative capabilities to make tourism more sustainable,” Dr Theuma added.
The Heland Project involves two specific sites: Mdina in Malta and Xagħra in Gozo.
“When one considers that 95 per cent of tourists visiting Malta visit Mdina, one starts to appreciate more the role of this historical and ancient city within our tourism product. The very particular qualities and unique needs of this city were the main factors that led us to choose it.”
We are exploring effective ways to strengthen the cultural aspect and the tourist product Mdina has to offer
“Through the project, we are trying to strike a balance between a tourism that is sustainable but at the same tim coexisting with business, cultural and resident needs. We are exploring effective ways to strengthen the cultural aspect and the tourist product Mdina has to offer, bearing in mind that any initiatives have to ensure sustainability. We need to strike the right balance between Mdina’s role as a major tourist destination and its functional role as a city inhabited by residents and businesses with their own needs as well.”
Dr Theuma, who is also appointed by the Tourism Policy Unit within the DG Enterprise and Industry on a European Tourism Indicator System (ETIS), said the study, which utilised a set of indicators developed by the unit, is very meticulous to ensure an adequate and balanced situation for all involved.
“In the coming days in fact, we will be announcing the results of data on Mdina, collected through the ETIS toolkit. This is the first time that Malta is adopting such tourism indicators which are important for us to ensure that the industry is in line with today’s tourism trends,” Dr Theuma explained.
“These indicators assume an important role especially when one considers the fact that tourists’ profile has changed drastically in recent years. Therefore we need to be innovative in how we attract tourists to be able to meet their expectations. This is what makes the Heland Project an excellent opportunity for all to be involved.
“It has helped us explore and develop projects that could improve Mdina’s social and economic potential. We can now explore new initiatives through which to generate cultural employment.”
The project in Xagħra is being led by the Temi Zammit Foundation. “The aim here was for the project to be applied across a wider aspect and not just culture or tradition. Besides the fact that Xagħra has a lot to offer from a heritage point of view, such as Ġgantija or its numerous legends, the locality offers a lot in terms of environment and ecology since it has developed between two valleys, making it both different and complementary.”
Another interesting and innovative aspect of the Heland Project is that for the first time a tourism-related study is taking gender into consideration, exploring the way men and women are involved in the management of cultural and environmental heritage.
The project is expected to be completed by December of this year, when the new set of tourism indicators will start being implemented in the formulation of future policies.