Since the Tourism Master Plan of 1989, a number of other plans,
studies and policies have been implemented in Malta, which have
included the fundamental principle of ‘quality’ tourism as their
underlying goal.Farsari and Prastacos (2003) highlight that in
terms of tourism rejuvenation strategies at mature destinations,
‘quality’ has a dual purpose: to improve the quality of the‘tradi-tional’ tourism product; and to develop a new quality tourism
product. The dual function of‘quality’ as a driver for rejuvenation
can effectively be applied to Malta (Bramwell, 2007). Dodds
(2007a)highlights the‘Carrying Capacity Assessment for Tourism
in the Maltese Islands’ that was undertaken during the late 1990s
by the newly established Ministry of Tourism in response to
growing concern over the environmental impacts of tourism. The
Carrying Capacity Study proposed a number of objectives, including
the upgrading of service and quality in hotel accommodation, the
increase of per capita spend for tourists, and the improvement and
better presentation of the existing tourism product (Ministry of
Tourism, 2001, cited inDodds, 2007a)