Malé, Maldives — Maldives is set to strengthen the tourism industry with China as an attempt to overcome the economic impacts from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Discussions were held between Tourism Minister Dr. Abdulla Mausoom and the Chinese Ambassador to Maldives Zhang Lizhong during a meeting on Monday regarding this matter.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, the discussions held at the meeting were focused on enhancing the cooperation in travel and tourism between both nations even more.
The Ambassador of China stated that he was briefed on the progress of Maldives in Covid-19 response and also the challenges faced in tourism industry and the measures imposed to ensure the safety of tourists.
Ambassador Lizhong assured China’s “close cooperation for the recovery of tourism.”
After the boarders were closed in the country on March 27 due to the pandemic, the most lucrative industry of Maldives, the tourism industry was on standstill for nearly four months until the boarders reopened on July 15.
However, since the boarders opened tourist arrivals have been lower than expected. Despite this, the Minister Mausoom states that the number of tourist arrivals are expected to reach 120,000 by December.
While a record breaking 1.7 million tourists arrived to Maldives in 2019
