Male’, Maldives – Ministry of Tourism has announced that it has given permission to 29 guesthouses in 9 islands until now.
Guesthouses had been closed down as the borders were closed on March 27, 2020 to combat the spread of Covid-19 community spread and were allowed to open on October 15. According to the statistics released by the Tourism Ministry, only 29 guesthouses had gotten the approval to reopen until October 18 out of the registered 530 guesthouses in the country.
The islands in which the guesthouses were allowed to operate are;
- Fodhdhoo in Noonu Atoll
- Hura in Kaafu Atoll
- Maafushi in Kaafu Atoll
- Guraidhoo in Kaafu Atoll
- Mathiveri in Alif Alif Atoll
- Ukulhas in Alif Alif Atoll
- Thoddoo in Alif Alif Atoll
- Thinadhoo in Vaavu Atoll
- Fulidhoo in Vaavu Atoll
According to the Tourism Ministry, any guesthouse that meets the requirements given by the HPA will be given the approval to resume operations.
The requirements given by the HPA states that the guesthouse must have a Covid-19 safe plan and that it should be shared with the Tourism Ministry. After the plan is shared, the respective local council will be ensuring that the guesthouse meets the requirements needed to continue the services, and if they do, the Ministry will grant permission to the guesthouse to operate. The guesthouses are also required to have quarantine and isolation arrangements. It has also made mandatory for all the residents to wear masks in an island where a guesthouse is given permission to operate. However, this remains optional if there are no tourists recieving services in the guesthouse.
In addition to the guesthouses, a total of 119 resorts, 1 yacht marina, 5 tourist hotels, 117 tourist vessels and 38 transit facilities had been given approval to operate until October 18. According to the latest statistics published by the Ministry of Tourism of Maldives on October 15, the number of tourists who arrived into the country was at 26,720, with 7,853 tourists having have arrived just this October.
