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Sustainable Tourism Mobility in Malta: Encouraging a Shift in Tourist Travel Behavior Through an Innovative Smartphone App for Trip Planning

Sustainable Transport and Tourism Destinations

ISBN: 978-1-83909-128-5, eISBN: 978-1-83909-127-8

Publication date: 8 February 2021

Abstract

Malta has long been a tourist destination with visitors totaling 2.6 million in 2018. A 2013 survey by the Malta Tourism Authority found that 22% of tourists opted for a rental car during their stay, whereas 76% chose public transport to meet their travel needs. In recent years, the modernization of the bus fleet, improved information provision, and the introduction of a ferry service in the Valletta harbors, have contributed to the increased appeal of public transport. However, the increase in independent tourists might give rise to an increase in the rentals of individual cars. This is a concern given Malta’s high car ownership, and its ever-increasing congestion problem. As part of the CIVITAS DESTINATIONS Project, focused on tourist sustainable mobility, the University of Malta developed a Tourist Mobility smartphone application: MyMaltaPlan. The app enables tourists to plan trips and schedule itineraries between touristic sites. The app, which was launched in the summer of 2019, aims to encourage a shift toward greener travel behavior. A survey was conducted with tourists to understand current tourist travel behavior, and tourists’ use of smartphone or web applications for trip planning. The vast majority of visitors own a smartphone and use it on holiday to plan, access, or book transport. To test the app’s functionalities, a focus group was held with a group of volunteers who shared their experiences in a group discussion. Participants appreciated the automatically created itinerary but noted that to truly promote sustainable mobility, the app should be able to provide the full picture of available alternatives.

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Acknowledgements

Acknowledgments

The authors have no competing interests to declare. This work was supported by the EU Horizon 2020 CIVITAS DESTINATIONS project: http://civitas.eu/destinations.

Citation

Maas, S., Bugeja, M. and Attard, M. (2021), "Sustainable Tourism Mobility in Malta: Encouraging a Shift in Tourist Travel Behavior Through an Innovative Smartphone App for Trip Planning", Zamparini, L. (Ed.) Sustainable Transport and Tourism Destinations (Transport and Sustainability, Vol. 13), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 79-95. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2044-994120210000013009

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

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