Background Information - Garden City

Valletta is one of the prime heritage areas of the Maltese Islands. It has been awarded the status of World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Almost all visitors to our islands visit the city and most importantly, almost 90% find their visit to Valletta satisfying.

The Valletta product, solidly built on the exploits of a crusading, European religious order, is varied and mostly based on its urban fabric, museums and attractions. The city, however, still lacks the large architectural interventions that are the norm in other European capitals. Government has injected huge investment in the area in order to increase foreign expenditure. One of the best examples is building of the Cruise Liner Terminal which attracted 408,046 visitors in 2006 an increase of 27.4% over 2005.

Valletta and its suburb are endowed with a number of heritage gardens that could be used to further enhance the tourism potential of the capital city. The vast resource available can be developed into a viable product which can achieve the status of an attraction in its own right. The gardens are not only valuable for their ecological and historical importance but also for their unique, impressive background - the Valletta and Floriana fortifications - the epitome of a Baroque bastioned war-machine. The project activities envisaged would be beneficial in a variety of ways including, environmental enhancement, accessibility, economic development and competitiveness as a tourism destination.

Objectives and Outcomes of the Project

Project Objectives

• Developing the Garden City product based on a network of ten heritage gardens linking them together physically and conceptually through art and culture;
  
• Increasing the tourism product of Malta's capital ensuring a quality experience for tourists staying in the vicinity of / or visiting Valletta.

Secondary Objectives

• Product upgrading - The physical upgrading of each garden taking stock of its history, traditions, intangible heritage and interpretive potential thus also enhancing the environment in an urban area;
  
• Product development through networking -
  
  - The linking together of all the individual gardens through a trail thus creating a a more accessible tourist-product where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts;

- Working with different entities and NGOs (University of Malta, St. James Cavalier, etc) in order to create themes (botanical, artistic, etc) for each garden that will transform these open spaces into a true unique experience for every visitor;

- Providing a number of open spaces for a number of activities that will complement Malta's tourism segment based strategy leading to further economic and cultural development.

- Providing an alternative to the Cruise liner passenger.

Project Outcomes

The objective of the project is to create a richer experience for the tourist visiting the islands who by visiting these open spaces will also get in touch with a number of artistic and environmental interventions. The visit will thus be elevated to an experience where visitors can get in touch and participate in a number of culture activities. This objective is in line with the OP 1 objectives set for the promotion of sustainable tourism which aims at promoting the islands according to its segment based policy. The project will also help increase employment and improve the quality of life of the locals also through environmental (including historical) protection. This is also in line with the concept of sustainable development.

Primary outcomes

• An increase in satisfaction levels for visitors;
• Diversification of tourism product and improved competitiveness as a tourism destination;
• Increase tourists who visit Malta for the culture (arts) segment;
• Additional possibilities for enhancing tourism segment offer (such as the English Language Learning segment;
  and relaxation (summer sun and winter sun);
• Rehabilitation and protection of heritage assets;
• Increased open spaces;
• Improved accessibility around the Valletta - Floriana Area.

Secondary outcomes

• Increased opportunity for employment;
• Increase in economic development;
• Better quality of life for locals;
• Better opportunities and facilities for artists;
• Increased opportunities for education;