Male’, Maldives – Minister of Tourism, Dr. Abdulla Maussom has said that the country needs develop tourism sector further and to open up all the possible routes for people to get dollar income.
Speaking on a ‘Sangu TV’ program last night, the minister said that Maldives has the potential to be ahead in the tourism sector from other countries as Maldives is a tourism destination as a whole and because of the uniqueness of the islands in the country. He also added that even if guesthouse tourism gains popularity, it does not affect the high end luxury resort tourism sector of the country.
He elaborated that even if guesthouse tourism, which brings foreign income directly to the people gets promoted more, it has no effect on the luxury image of the country.
“There are top notch resorts where top movie stars, football players and other rich people would come and spend as much as they possibly can. Promoting local tourism does not affect the Maldives image of a luxury destination” The Minister said.
Minister Dr. Mausoom told that after the reopening of the borders, more than 28,000 beds are available in the country including resorts, guesthouses and safaris. He highlighted the work being done by the people in the industry to get the sector back up and fully running after Covid-19 pandemic which crippled the industry in Maldives. He also pointed out the high compliance to the HPA regulations set out for the industry as well.
Since the borders opened the country has welcomed a total of of 27,217 tourists during the first three months. Maldives had closed the national borders on March 27 due to a strike in the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country and re-opened the borders on July 15, allowing only tourist resorts to open. Guesthouses were allowed to open on October 15.
