MALE- The Maldives Government said on Wednesday it was pulling out from the international New7Wonders of Nature competition accusing the organizers of demanding expensive licence fees and sponsorship for continued participation.
Private tourism agencies there however said they may ensure the country stays in the competition.
“With regret, we are withdrawing from this competition because of the unexpected demands for large sums of money from the New7Wonders organisers. We no longer feel that continued participation in this competition is in the economic interests of the Maldives,” Thoyyib Mohamed, Minister of State for Tourism, Arts and Culture and chairperson of the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the government on Wednesday.
MMPRC Managing Director, Simon Hawkins told reporters he believed the campaign is more a scam to get money than a fair competition.
New7Wonders in a statement said the withdrawal by the Government of its nomination to the New7Wonders of Nature however had no effect on the Maldives continued participation in the campaign.
It said while the organisation has accepted the resignation of the Maldives Ministry of Tourism as the ‘Official Supporting Committee for the Maldives’, proposals have been made for an alternative ‘Official Supporting Committee for the Maldives’.
The Male-based Haveeru newspaper said in its online edition that the Maldives Association for Tourism Industry had announced that it would work “jointly with other associations, including the Maldives Association for Construction Industries, Liveaboard Association of the Maldives and Maldives Association of Yacht Operators, to ensure that the Maldives remains in the competition”.
New7Wonders said the sole authority to decide whether a finalist can remain in the campaign rests with the organisation itself, and appealed to all fans of the Maldives to continue to actively campaign and vote for the country.
The New7Wonders of Nature contest selected through an online voting process culminates on November 11, 2011 with the selection of the winner.
The Maldives originally agreed to participate in the competition in early 2009 and paid a participation administration fee of $199. However, the details of the joint initiatives and escalating costs were not clearly outlined prior to signing. Recently, the New7Wonders organisers have repeatedly asked the Maldives to pay significantly more money of well over a million dollars plus other costs, the government said. |
E-mail
