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JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF TOURISM STUDIES ISSUE 1 APRIL 2008 TRAVEL TOURISM CULTURE HERITAGE WELCOME elcome Eating & Fasting E-learning Malta Yesteryear The Promise of JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF TOURISM STUDIES STUDIES OF TOURISM JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE Tourism Relational Tourism The Way Forward A New Breed of Tourists ISSUE 1 APRIL 2008 The Maltese Islands are JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF TOURISM STUDIES ISSUE 1 APRIL 2008 | 1 renowned for the warm hospitality they extend to foreigners who choose to editorial stay for a short period of Welcome to time in these sunny islands. With the same warmth I welcome readers of this new publication which, however, will attempt to break with tradition Welcome is not just another travel and tourism magazine. It will sincerely strive to look at the Maltese tourism industry holistically, in view of the exponential increase in importance for the sector, of Maltese history, heritage, culture and the arts. It will analyse current trends and attempt to predict future ones. It should provide a good and worthwhile read for those who want to keep abreast of the latest endeavours in one of the pillars of the Maltese economy. Welcome will mainly cover travel, tourism, culture and heritage. These fields were not chosen at random but lie at the core of any attempt at a definition of the Maltese Nation. Culture and Heritage are now inextricably intertwined with Tourism as they represent (or should represent) the primary interest of the new breed of tourist which Malta hopes to entice to visit us. Their creative integration within the industry forms a fundamental part of the Maltese product and, as things stand, of a coherent management of Malta’s heritage and the promotion of its true Mediterranean culture, forming the basis of the new niche markets of an industry that no longer rests on the ‘sun and sea’ asset. Another element touched by this magazine is the importance of new technologies, especially eBusiness and eCommerce. ray vassallo In this respect WELCOME presents an exposition of ITS’ four-year-old effort in training future operators in the sector in these areas. It also gives a blow-by-blow account of the birth of the ITS elearning platform, intended to disseminate the institute’s training programmes to an ever larger segment of the industry. The year 2008 is the twentieth year of operation of the Institute. The next issue of the magazine will focus on an overview of these two decades pointing out the milestones of ITS’ evolution from a simple catering school to a respected institution offering cutting- edge courses over a wide spectrum of activity within Tourism and Hospitality. Meanwhile, in this issue, we will take a look at Integrated Relational Tourism, a new development in the sector in which ITS is specialising. The arrival of low-cost airlines and on-line booking has given birth to a new kind of tourist who is more interested in actively interacting with the population and experiencing life the way the Maltese actually live it. The establishment of a specialised Centre for Cultural & Heritage Studies at the Institute of Tourism Studies is also another milestone in our continuous struggle to widen and extend the scope of the Institute’s operations and activities. The Centre will see to the cross-disciplinary inclusion of its areas of specialisation within the Institute’s educational programmes. This issue of WELCOME presents us with a first effort, a brief history of Maltese cuisine in all its uniqueness and humour. Finaly I would like to thank Mr. Reginald Abela, Executive Chairman of ITS, and Mr. Joseph Bonello, ITS Head of Administration, without whose encouragement and active support this initiative would not have materialised. www.its.edu.mt We hope you enjoy this premier issue. 2 welcome TRAvEL TOURISM cULTURE HERITAgE JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF TOURISM STUDIES ISSUE 1 APRIL 2008 | 3 welcome is the official magazine of the Institute of Tourism Studies, Malta’s only professional further and higher education institution that meets the changing needs of the Hospitality and Tourism Industry in the Maltese Islands. The aims of “Welcome!” are to promote discussion, research and reflection in the field of tourism in respect of the ever- growing importance of culture and heritage in its development and evolution. welcome is distributed to all stakeholders in the Maltese tourism, hospitality and higher educational sectors. The views expressed in welcome do not reflect the views of the Board of Governors or of the Management of the Institute of the Tourism Studies but only that of the individual authors. © All rights reserved. Reproduction of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. The Institute of Tourism Studies shall have no liability for errors, omission or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof. Editorial Team Editor: Raymond J Vassallo Deputy Editor: Martin Debattista Deputy Editor (Culture & Heritage): Vincent Zammit Deputy Editor (Travel & Environment): David Pace Deputy Editor (Arts): Francesca Farrugia Editorial Assistant: Elaine Jones Editorial Assistant: Helena Micallef Advertising Manager: Carmenrita Bugeja Advertising Assistant: Elaine Camilleri Contributors Dr Ray Debono Roberts Aaron Mizzi Dr Joseph Borg Prof Carmel Cassar Joseph Tanti Published by the Institute of Tourism Studies St George’s Bay, St Julians PBK1553 - Malta Tel: +356 2379 3100, Fax: +356 2137 5472, Email: [email protected] www.its.edu.mt Advertising Office Carmenrita Bugeja Email: [email protected] Tel: +356 7900 9925, Fax: +356 2137 5472 Vince Zammit Francesca Farrugia David Pace Elaine Camilleri Carmenrita Bugeja Ray Vassallo Martin Debattista Elaine Jones 4 welcome TRAvEL TOURISM cULTURE HERITAgE JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF TOURISM STUDIES ISSUE 1 APRIL 2008 | 5 message from the Minister of Education and culture An example of innovation, diversity Inside Information and improvment Minister’s Message 05 ITS Establishes The Centre for Cultural & Heritage Studies 07 Education and As the foremost institution in Malta offering further education programmes in Environmental tourism, the Institute of Tourism Studies epitomizes the importance of the relationship The New DOK Legislation for Malta 10 Sustainability are two between tourism, education and vocational training. Since its inception in the late eighties, the Institute has striven to introduce a curriculum based on these tenets and An E-learning Vision for Tourism: The ITS Experience 03 pillars on which the new government will has kept up with requirements in the field by the early introduction of e-Learning and Food Handlers’ Training: An innovative hands-on Approach 09 the concept of tourism sustainability. base the continuing The Institute’s willingness to innovate, diversify, improve and expand its curricula Eating and Fasting in Medieval and Early Modern Malta 21 development of our and invest in cutting-edge Information Systems to be integrated in a cross-disciplinary Vietnam as a Holiday Destination 31 country as a modern manner, can be regarded as a model for this type of institution. sovereign state and an Through its wide academic base and enterprising staff, ITS has been involved A Man with Vision: An Interview with Mario Philip Azzopardi 37 active member of the in a number of EU projects that are helping it to carry out research activities in new The Carob Tree: An Ancient and most Beneficial Tree 40 European Union areas such as Cultural Management, Alternative Tourism and e-Learning. In this way, our educational institutions can benefit fully from the advantages of EU projects and 45 Awarding Excellence in Hospitality funding. Reflections on Prehistoric Connections between Malta & Sicily 47 The launching of the ITS magazine is testimony to the hard work and dedication of the ITS staff and the pride with which they regard the Institution they form part of – an The Promise of Relational Tourism 55 institution fully geared to achieving true excellence in vocational training. Earning a Living by Sipping Wine: A Interview with Giuseppe Vaccarini 40 ITS has been involved in a number of EU projects that are helping it to carry out research activities in new areas such as Cultural Management, Alternative Tourism and e-Learning Dolores crIstINa Cover Photo Print of a painting adorning The Chamber of Commerce, Exchange Building, Republic Street Valletta 6 welcome TRAvEL TOURISM cULTURE HERITAgE JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF TOURISM STUDIES ISSUE 1 APRIL 2008 | 7 Its establishes the centre for cultural & heritage studies One of the more important initiatives taken by the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) is the establishment of the centre for cultural and Heritage Studies. Together with the centre for E-learning Technologies, vINceNt ZaMMIt already active for the past three years, the new centre A lecturer at ITS, teaching History and Guiding Techniques, as well as features strategically in the reform ITS is planning the Director for the centre of Cultural and Heritage Studies. He has taught across its curricula in order to reflect the importance history at Secondary, post Secondary and University level. He presented of the cultural and Artistic elements in an industry cultural and heritage related programmes on local national television and radio stations, and published extensively in various local publications. He metamorphosised by low-cost airlines and a new-born published studies about general Maltese history, museums, fortifications, individualistic streak in the tourist himself - perhaps as archaeology and the period of the Knights of St John. a result of the maturity of the sector. 8 welcome TRAvEL tourism culture heritagE JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF TOURISM STUDIES ISSUE 1 APRIL 2008 | 9 This new Centre will enhance the educational and public • It is envisaged that a number of modules would be profile of the ITS and provides a platform for a better academic developed covering the different subjects and fields of input into the Hospitality, Cultural and Heritage sectors of study; the Maltese Islands.