The Positive Action Community Tourism (PACT) movement, launched in Malta, aims to change how hotels operate by encouraging them to invest in the communities that host them. The initiative seeks to ensure that tourism revenue delivers benefits beyond hotel businesses, helping residents protect their neighbourhoods, preserve local culture and address the effects of gentrification.
As international tourism continues to generate business for hotels and other tourism operators, many popular destinations face growing concerns about housing affordability, changing neighbourhoods and the loss of local identity. PACT proposes a model in which hotels take a more active role in community life, helping ensure that the economic benefits of tourism reach the people who live in these destinations.
The initiative was founded by British entrepreneur Mark Weingard, founder of the Iniala Group, a luxury hospitality business with roots in Malta. His ambition is to bring hotels, community organisations and other local stakeholders together under a shared commitment to responsible tourism.
PACT began in Valletta and has four members, according to Weingard. The movement is also working with the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) on plans to expand internationally.
“We started in Valletta and we want to create a global movement,” Weingard says. He believes hotels should develop meaningful relationships with their surrounding communities rather than simply establish businesses, attract visitors and generate profits.
For Weingard, community support is central to the long-term relationship between a hotel and its destination. He argues that hospitality businesses should contribute to improving local people’s lives and earn the trust of the residents whose neighbourhoods form part of the visitor experience.
His own business in Valletta provides an example of the approach. Iniala Valletta occupies several restored historic buildings that have been incorporated into the city’s existing architectural landscape. Weingard says the project was driven partly by a desire to preserve buildings with architectural character and historical value while bringing renewed activity to parts of the Maltese capital.
He describes the hotel as a boutique resort within an urban setting, designed to attract international visitors while contributing to the restoration of the city’s built heritage. The project reflects his view that hotel development can support the renewal of historic neighbourhoods, provided it respects the places and communities in which it operates.
However, restoration and investment alone do not resolve every challenge associated with tourism-led development. As visitor numbers and commercial interest grow, residents in some destinations face pressure from rising property costs and changes to the character of their neighbourhoods. PACT’s stated ambition is to encourage a form of tourism development that supports local economies without displacing the people and traditions that give destinations their identity.
Weingard wants the initiative to reach cities beyond Malta, including Madrid, London, Paris and Lisbon. He is calling for hotels and other stakeholders to work together on a common commitment to community wellbeing, rather than treating local engagement as an occasional charitable activity.
Alongside the PACT initiative, the Iniala Group plans to replicate its hospitality model in Lisbon, Athens and Madrid. Weingard says the properties will reflect the culture and identity of their respective cities, with local architecture, design and food playing an important role in shaping the guest experience.
The group’s approach also places considerable emphasis on personal wellbeing. Its hotels offer services and experiences that include beauty and personal care, skin treatments, physical recovery, healthy eating, relaxation techniques, meditation and psychological support. The aim is to bring different aspects of wellbeing together within a hospitality setting.
“We do not want guests simply to enjoy a few days of rest, but to leave with knowledge, habits and a plan they can continue to follow afterwards,” Weingard explains.
The model reflects a wider ambition to offer travellers more than accommodation alone, combining hospitality with experiences centred on health, personal development and local culture. For PACT, however, the relationship between hotels and their host communities remains a defining part of the vision.
Whether the movement can expand beyond its initial members and produce measurable benefits for residents will depend on how its commitments are put into practice. Its central proposal is that hotels should be judged not only by the visitors they attract or the revenue they generate, but also by the contribution they make to the places in which they operate.
