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.


    Access

    Download

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Chapter 6 Sustainable Tourism Mobility in Malta: Encouraging a Shift in Tourist Travel Behavior Through an Innovative Smartphone App for Trip Planning


    Contributors:


    Publication date :

    2021


    Remarks:

    Campusweiter Zugriff (Universität Hannover) - Vervielfältigungen (z.B. Kopien, Downloads) sind nur von einzelnen Kapiteln oder Seiten und nur zum eigenen wissenschaftlichen Gebrauch erlaubt. Keine Weitergabe an Dritte. Kein systematisches Downloaden durch Robots.




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English



    Classification :

    DDC:    388.04



    Encouraging environmentally sustainable holiday travel

    Böhler, Susanne | Online Contents | 2006


    Tourist Behavior Analysis for Sustainable Tourism Policy

    Wu, Lingling / Zhang, Junyi / Fujiwara, Akimasa | Springer Verlag | 2013


    Investigation of the use of smartphone applications for trip planning and travel outcomes

    Jamal, Shaila / Habib, Muhammad Ahsanul | Taylor & Francis Verlag | 2019


    Trip Detection with Smartphone-Assisted Collection of Travel Data

    Safi, Hamid / Assemi, Behrang / Mesbah, Mahmoud et al. | Transportation Research Record | 2016