Tourism and Intangible Heritage

The EU Affairs, Policy Development and Programme Implementation Unit within the Ministry for Tourism & Culture is for the second year participating in an initiative organized by the European Commission supported by the EU Member States and the Candidate Countries.

The project aims at drawing attention to the value, diversity and shared characteristics of European tourist destinations and to promote destinations where the economic growth objective is pursued in such a way as to ensure the social, cultural and environmental sustainability of tourism.

The theme of excellence for this year�s initiative is tourism and intangible heritage and the subtitle of the award for this year is �Best Emerging Destination for the development and promotion of intangible heritage�. Those destinations which have developed a new tourism offer based on the appreciation of their specific local intangible heritage between 2000 � 2007 have the possibility to compete and be selected as 2007 Destination of Excellence.

Hamlet of Santa Lucija in Kercem - Gozo

The Hamlet of Santa Lucija in Kercem, has ably succeeded in sustainably develop and promote the intangible heritage within its locality.

Santa Lucija, a rural locality to the west of Victoria, Gozo�s Capital town. Presently, Santa Lucija is currently experiencing a growth in population, brought about by a number of people taking up residence in the village. Moreover, it has become a popular preference with regards to foreigners taking up permanent residence. In fact a substantial amount of farmhouses have been converted in luxurious residences for both Maltese and foreign visitors.

The Fondazzjoni Folkloristika Ta� Klula operating since 2006 established itself with the sole purpose of revalorising and promoting the area of Santa Lucia through its intangible heritage. To achieve this object three main activities are being organised on an annual basis. Namely;

Ikla tan-Nanna

A traditional Gozitan meal with the participation of folk music and dance at Pjazza Santa Lucija and adjacent alleys

� Presentation of traditional Gozitan food

� Re-enactment of the rural traditional Maltese wedding

� Folk music and folk dance

Bis-Sahha

An evening of wine accompanied by typical Gozitan snacks and folkloristic dancing.

� Opening of traditional local food and wine stalls

� Traditional folk music and dance

Light Festival

A two day celebration of the patron saint of Santa Lucija known as the Saint of Light.

The feast is celebrated around a bonfire in the village piazza. Local bands, wine and food accompany this event.

� Celebration of mass for the patron saint � Santa Lucija

� Distribution of traditional Santa Lucija buns

� Traditional local food stalls and mulled wine

� Fireworks display

The activities mentioned above envisage to have a positive knock on effect on employment and earnings of the locality especially on the sustainability of the local produce which is experiencing a renaissance as a result thereof. Thanks to these activities the local produce is being promoted and experienced. Thus ensuring that the locals are offered a more secure market for their produce thereby enshrining confidence in their enterprises and fostering further investment

These initiatives also contribute to the principle of sustainable development as they enable the enjoyment of Santa Lucija�s traditional assets for present and future generations.

The main innovation of the initiatives is the involvement of the locals of Santa Lucia who actively work and determine the local development by using the enhancement of the intangible heritage as leverage.

Furthermore being an NGO the initiator of all the activities means a real participative action that is able to positively affect the whole community life.

The utilization of a didactic menu to present the typical dinner is an interesting element of innovation to assist in keeping alive traditions that would have been long forgotten.

The rural dimension has been enhanced thanks to the utilisation of products that belong to the Maltese eno-gastronomic identity. The presentation of those products happens in a typical rural scenario such as that of the streets of the locality. Participants to the events live a wholesome and comprehensive experience of rural life and rural dimension.

The involvement of the majority of residents of Santa Lucia has determined a very positive social impact. The population now has common objectives, activities and missions to achieve. They share more than what they previously used to share and new elements have been brought to the social dynamics of the village. The risk of isolation and exclusion is limited because the events are always organised in the village and all the people give their fruitful contribution.

The high percentage of involvement of the population of Santa Lucia actively involved in these activities gives the activities that added value greatly appreciated by domestic and foreign visitors. With regards to the involvement of other stakeholders, the NGO has been able to establish excellent relationship with benefactors, local institutions and sponsors, maintaining their autonomy with regards to event content and organisation.

The farming sector within the locality has a great potential and a lot is being done to ensure its involvement through these organised initiatives. The local rural produce contributes positively in diversifying the tourism offer of Gozo

Sta. Lucija has started to register a considerable number of domestic and foreign tourists who otherwise would not have visited the locality were it not for the initiatives being organised.

Nadur: A Best Emerging Rural Zone

Being situated on the easternmost hill of the island of Gozo, with a population of just around 4700 people and 87.5% of its land territory falling outside the permitted development zone, Nadur maintains a vast ambience of rurality and tradition. The tourism development strategies adopted by its Local Council focus on such assets and highlight the locality�s natural landscape and scenic views, involving qualities and standards of sustainability, holistic management and improvement in the area while implementing and offering visitors a purely agro-tourism activity.

The main thrusts of this locality include the promotion of the development of agro-tourism ensuring that farmers are offered a more secure market for their output by the cultivation of citrus and olive trees within the Bingemma and San Blas valleys supporting a visiting agro-tourism community, whilst at the same time offering the development of an end of line process where a company converts produce into local products such as liquors. This triggered integration between visitor experience and locals through a number of activities like fruit picking, which were further enhanced through appropriately designed walks that also highlight the beauty of the scenery in and around Nadur. Moreover the Local Council engaged in restorative works on the two local towers � namely Torri Sopu and Torri ta� Kenuna � achieving further accessibility to visitors through events organised therein and incorporated various embellishment activities, which together with a number of traditional and one-off events, meetings and conferences enhanced the promotion of such locality.

A number of key indicators easily point out that such thrusts proved to be quite successful. These key indicators include the fact that Nadur has begun to register a higher influx of tourists with these being mostly registered during off-peak periods. Moreover the fulfilment of the agro-tourism concept resulted into an extremely positive characteristic for the locality as it led to the availability of a cottage industry to process the produce of citrus and olives from farmers. Nadur has also managed to host a number of meetings within the locality for overseas delegates and to retain its rural characteristic making this rural aspect the keystone of its assets. All in all this led to the bringing into operation of a number of commercial establishments and to an increase in the number of employment opportunities within the locality.

The ingredients of this success have been the involvement of the local community, the dedication and strategic vision of the Council and the locality�s own assets which have been exalted without being exploited irreversibly. Truly Nadur exemplifies the feasibility of promoting a rural locality as a tourism destination and has shown that this model can work..

During 2006 and 2007 the EU Affairs and Policy Development Unit with the Ministry for Tourism and Culture has participated in a pilot project entitled �European Destinations of Excellence� organised by the European Commission in collaboration with the EU Member States and the Candidate Countries. This project aimed at drawing attention to the value, diversity and shared characteristics of European tourist destinations and at promoting destinations where the economic growth objective is pursued in such a way as to ensure the social, cultural and environmental sustainability of tourism. It identified and gave recognition to destinations which during the past three years have undertaken initiatives by drawing attention to their rural characteristics through their authentic and sustainable offer and have utilized effective promotional tools to market their attributes and accomplishments. The overall development of initiatives within Nadur produced an integrated rural product resulting in the best emerging rural location in the Maltese Islands. Through this project Nadur has gained recognition on both a local and international level whilst also setting an example of best practice to other localities.

European Destinations of Excellence

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