53% think Malta will ‘benefit from CHOGM’

Under-34 year olds were the most sceptical, with only 31% thinking that Malta would benefit substantially for hosting the meeting.

A MaltaToday survey shows that 37% of respondents were not sure whether Malta would benefit from hosting the Commonwealth’s Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). 

The survey also shows that two-thirds of under-34 year olds expect the CHOGM to cause them an inconvenience in their daily life.

While only 10% think that Malta would see no benefit from hosting the event, 13% think Malta will only benefit a little while 40% think that Malta would benefit either a lot or substantially.

Under-34 year olds were the most sceptical, with only 31% thinking that Malta would benefit substantially for hosting the meeting. Older respondents were more optimistic with 47% thinking that Malta would benefit substantially.

Younger respondents were also the most likely to think that the international gathering will pose an inconvenience to them. 66% of under-34 year olds replied that CHOGM would pose an inconvenience, 9% replied it would pose a little inconvenience and only 18% replied it would not pose any inconvenience. This contrasts with 29% of 35- to 54-year olds and 48% of over-55 year olds who expect no inconvenience.

Overall 42% think CHOGM will cause them an inconvenience while 32% replied that it would not.  16% replied “don’t know” while 10% expect a little inconvenience.

A relative majority judged the preparations for the summit positively. While 28% judged the preparations very positively or positively, only 21% judged the preparations negatively. 11% judged the preparations as not so positively while a substantial 40% replied don’t know. Under 34 year olds who are also most likely to think that CHOGM would create an inconvenience for them where the most likely to judge preparations for the event negatively.

The MaltaToday survey was held before the terrorist attacks in Paris and after the announcement of traffic restrictions during the event.

Methodology

The survey was carried out using telephone questionnaires between 4 and 10 November. 794 phone calls were made with 520 accepting to participate. The survey was stopped when the 520 quota of completed surveys was reached. The results were weighed to reflect the age and gender balance of population. The survey has a margin of error of +/-4.4.