The political crisis in the Maldives which led to the resignation of President Mohamed Nasheed on Tuesday hasn't had any major impact on the country's tourism sector, its biggest revenue earner.
Nasheed, under pressure over mounting opposition protests for some 22 days over what is called the 'arbitrary' arrest of the Criminal Court Chief Justice, stepped down after a section the police turned against him and joined protestors on Tuesday.
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| A Maldivian woman with her child in the capital Male |
Vice President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik was sworn in as the President of Maldives thereafter. The former President said he was ousted in a coup plotted with the help of his former colleague and ally, Dr Waheed.
State agencies, industry bodies and travel agents said all flights were arriving on schedule and tourists were unaffected. Some countries have issued advisories essentially urging their nationals to avoid the capital Male and trouble spots there. The Maldives Association of Travel Agents &Tour Operators (MATATO), on Wednesday said the country was calm after a new government take-over. "The geographical isolation of resorts and inhabited islands leaves tourists away from daily activities of local population centres. We would like to assure that the holidays of tourists in Maldives will not be affected in the current scenario," it said in a statement. State agency, the Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation said the Maldives is unique for its one island, one resort-geography and guarantees that no guests should be part of any local political issues.
Kai Jellinghaus, destination manager for REWE Destination Service AG, a big German based retail and travel group, told the Business Times that all flights are as scheduled and there hasn't been any cancellation of bookings. "The situation (in the capital-Male) is stabilizing," he said, noting that there are no long term repercussions from this situation.
He said the British market has been issued a warning while Germany has told nationals to be cautious when visiting the capital - Male, which is on a separate island. Michelle Flake, Contracting and Marketing Manager, Scaevola Travel, said she fielded a few calls from a couple of clients with concerns but "they have not cancelled as I explained that this won't affect the resorts." Other agents said there were cancellations but which has no major impact on the industry. Earlier in an interview with the Business Times in Male last week, Maldives authorities said they hoped to welcome the millionth traveler in a calendar year in September.
"We hope to hit a million tourists by third week September," Simon Hawkins, Managing Director of the state-owned MaldivesMarketing & PR Corporation (MMPRC), said at his Male office.
Noting that arrivals in the Maldives are expected to grow by around 18-20 % this year from a growth of 17.6% to a total 931,333 visitors in 2011, Mr Hawkins said the Chinese market is growing while Europe -despite a fall in arrivals from the UK and Italy, was showing signs of a recovery.
Last year Europe accounted for 57.7 % of the inbound traffic from total arrivals, down from 63.8% in 2010 but volumes are seen rising this year, he said.
China again was the Maldives' top source market with 198,655 visitors, up by 67% from 118,961 in 2010 followed by the UK with 104,508(an 8.5% drop from 114,596), Germany at 90,517 (up 17.4% from 77,108), Italy at 83,088 from 89,596 (- 7.3%) and Russia with 63,936 from 49,111, up 30.2 %. The average stay per tourists was 7.0 days against 7.4 days in 2010. A travel agent said that the forecast for arrivals was good this year and Europe should improve but he pointed out the need for better facilities at the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport.
"It's a bit congested during rush-hour times in the evening owing to airport construction and facilities like public toilets need improvement," he said. The airport is being re-developed to increase passenger and cargo capacity.
Mr Hawkins said the second generation Chinese travelers are far more sophisticated and not noisy unlike the earlier generation. "This category of traveller looks for the best hotel and goes for the best product. They want the best," he said. The Maldives has been aggressively tapping the Chinese market and often has been rated by the Chinese as the most desirable of all destinations visited by travelers from the world's biggest source market. |
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