VALLETTA, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Malta's Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis has launched a simplified Valletta Guidebook, aimed at making traveling easier for individuals with learning difficulties, local media reported Thursday.
The initiative emerged from a group of six young people with intellectual disabilities, who with the guidance of educators from Equal Partners Foundation, started the research, writing and editing process.
"The result is impressive. It is an easy-to-read and visually coded guide book of our capital city", the minister said. "This makes it accessible to individuals with learning difficulties," he added.
The new guidebook can also be "used by young children and even students studying English as a foreign language (EFL)," said the minister, highlighting that the EFL is "an important niche within tourism industry, attracting around 80,000 visitors each year."
Lewis reiterated that in an increasingly competitive tourism environment, the ability to diversify is extremely important, the niche tourism refers to how the country's tourism product can be tailored, developed and structured in a way to meet the needs and interests of particular groups of people.
The minister thanked all the organisers for taking the initiative to launch the new Valletta Guidebook as this helps in advancing the tourism industry and make Malta and Gozo the place where people want to be.
Valletta is Malta's capital and a World Heritage site, it is regarded as a living experience of Baroque architecture, a monument donated by the Knights of St John nearly five centuries ago. Throughout the years, Valletta has welcomed emperors, heads of state, artists and poets and is now the permanent seat of the Maltese government.
Dotted with quaint cafes and wine bars, Valletta is today one of Malta's main tourist attractions, hosting among others, the majestic St John's Co-Cathedral, the imposing bastions and a treasure of priceless paintings. It also provides a stunning snapshot of Malta's Grand Harbour, often described as the most beautiful in the Mediterranean.
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