Male, Maldives – CEO and Managing Director of Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), Gordon Andrew Steward, has paid a courtesy call to the newly appointed Minister of Tourism of Maldives, Dr. Abdullah Mausoom.
During the meeting held on 5th October, which was also attended by the General Manager, Commercial of MACL, Mr. Ahmed Azeem, discussions were made regarding the enhancement of safety measures, including the departure and arrival procedures of Velana International Airport (VIA), which is being managed by MACL.
MACL and the Ministry of Tourism are expected to work closely together in the upcoming future, as the Maldives Border Miles program takes effect on 1st December, 2021. The loyalty program, which was inaugurated by Minister Mausoom on the 27th of September to mark the World Tourism Day of the year 2020, aims to boost the tourism industry of the country.
The program was initiated by Maldives Immigrations and developed in collaboration with other joint stakeholders; Ministry of Tourism, Maldives Media and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) and MACL. The program has three tiers featured with in it, which are, ‘Aida’ (bronze), ‘Antara’ (silver) and ‘Abaarana’ (gold), each providing a distinctive variety of rewards, services or benefits to the reciever. These tiers will also increase in value according to progress.
Tourists will be earning points based on the duration of tourist stay and the number of times they visit the country. Tourists also have the opportunity to earn additional points by visiting the country during special occasions.
The tourism industry of Maldives, which suffered insurmountably after the country was forced to close all borders due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, has started picking up slowly after borders opened up on July 15th. After the three month closure, a total of 18,867 tourists have arrived into the country according to the latest statistics by Maldives Immigration.
