Tourism Ministry cancels World Tourism Day celebration in Addu City

Minister of Tourism, Dr. Abdulla Mausoom speaking at the commemorative event held on the 75th anniversary of the British Loyalty Shipwreck in Addu City on January 5, 2021 | Photo: adduLIVE

Malé, Maldives – The Ministry of Tourism of Maldives has revealed that the occasion of World Tourism Day which was announced to be celebrated in the southernmost point of Maldives, Addu City in 2021 will not be celebrated.

The day which is marked on the 27th of every September was to be celebrated in Addu City this year – a city which Tourism Minister Dr. Abdullah Mausoom forecasted would see more development in the tourism front during the upcoming years than in the last 38 years.

The Minister stated earlier this year that while 2022 will be made into the golden year of tourism in the Maldives, the year will also bring a smile onto the faces of those who work in the industry in Addu.

Currently, the city’s tourism is suffering due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused the two main luxury resorts operating in the city to be indefinitely shut down, while guesthouses also incur insurmountable losses with no solution in sight.

Speaking to local news Dhauru Senior Policy Director of Tourism Ministry Farhad Ibrahim said the decision to celebrate World Tourism Day in Addu City was cancelled because it is not the best time to celebrate in Addu City since the two main resorts are still closed.

With this, the celebratory events for World Tourism Day 2021 in the Maldives are cancelled with a small celebration held in Malé to launch the golden year calendar and employment application.