Male’, Maldives – Tourism Minister of Maldives, Dr. Abdullah Mausoom has said that even though 2021 will be challenging, that they see a very promising year ahead.
Minister Mausoom has said this in a brief interview given live on CNBC International about how the island nation managed to safely bring back Maldivian tourism industry on track.
Today morning, Minister Mausoom went live on CNBC International to give a brief information on how Maldivs brought tourists back to the country despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
During his interview, Minister Mausoom said that although the country has faced many challenges in bringing back the tourism industry in track, he said that a lot of progress is seen and that Maldives will end the year with a positive mode.
Minister Mausoom further said that although the country foresees to face more challenges in the future, the ministry sees a lot of improvement and success in 2021 compared to this year.
2021 is still challenging but we see a promising 2021.
Tourism Minister, Mausoom stated.
Regarding the Covid-19 vaccine, Minister Mausoom said that the vaccine is “very much welcome” for the tourists to use and it will free the tourists from some of the “hassles that tourists are facing.”
Minister Mausoom said that the Covid-19 vaccine is an important tool that can be used to restrict the protective measures the government has taken and thus helping the tourists enjoy their stay, however, he noted that even without a vaccine Maldives has now been opened for five months and has managed to successfully welcome and serve over 110,000 tourists.
When asked how the country gained the trust of international tourists during this pandemic, Minister Mausoom said that as the normal travel insurance does not apply in a situation like this, Maldives introduced a local covid insurance and that this has helped a lot in growing the industry.
Minister Mausoom also added that although the borders of Maldives was closed for only three months, from May to July, the tourists only started coming to the country from October onwards and that it was basically a closure of eight months for the country.
At the end of the interview, Minister Mausoom said that despite all this, the new facilities and developed areas in the Maldives will be ready for the upcoming year and that “2021 is going to be a year of investment for the Maldives.”
