Ġgantija Temples receive Tourism Award

The Ġgantija Temples Interpretation Centre in Xagħra, Gozo has received a “Highly Commended” Tourism Award by the British Guild of Travel Writers.

The announcement took place during the Guild’s annual awards dinner at the Savoy Hotel in London, and was received by Nicoline Sagona, Manager of Gozo Museums and Sites within Heritage Malta.  A “Highly Commended” award certificate confirms that the Ġgantija Temples Interpretation Centre was one of the three finalists in its category of Best European Tourism Projects.

 The project, which was managed by Heritage Malta – the national agency for museums, conservation practice and cultural heritage – was inaugurated in October 2013 and formed part of a much wider Archaeological Heritage Conservation Project (ERDF032).  It was nominated for the Tourism Awards by British writer Juliet Rix, who is also a member of the Guild.

 The Guild members, who range from writers and editors to photographers and broadcasters, travel the world to see new tourism projects.  Some projects cost millions and are well-publicised; others are simpler – but may have an even larger impact on their community. 

The Ġgantija project was nominated because of the strengths and successes it has presented within the local tourism industry.  In Juliet Rix’s own words, the new interpretation has managed to combine “academic accuracy with completely accessible presentation”, and “has turned difficult-to-understand ancient stones into a window onto an extraordinary early people”.