VALLETTA, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Malta aims to open up the islands to e-sports tourism to attract video game players to sports tournaments in Malta, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Friday.
The number of tourists visiting the Maltese islands last year went up to 2.6 million, with the number of nights spent amounting to a total of 18.6 billion nights.
"Let me be very clear: this is a positive challenge to be faced with, but we need to roll up our sleeves and find creative solutions to address the issue in a sustainable manner," Muscat addressed the sixth Mediterranean Tourism Forum.
In light of the high growth rate, Muscat's government would also be working to attract tourists "of a greater quality" and diversity, he added.
"The work we are doing in seeking new pastures will look to provide sustainable and renewed methods of tourism," Muscat explained, "The government understands how fast the e-sports sector is expanding, and we look to replicate those numbers here in Malta."
E-sport is a form of competition using video games. Most commonly, e-sports take the form of organised, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players.
Malta organised the GO Malta E-sports Festival in December 2018, which attracted over 350 gamers and more than 1,000 spectators.
During that festival, Malta's Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation Silvio Schembri announced that an e-sports strategy will be launched in early 2019. He explained that the strategy will not only look into e-sports but will also cater to the video gaming sector, as well as create a new type of tourism.
