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THE Government of the Republic of Maldives plans to reopen its beaches for tourists starting next July, with a number of security protocols related to COVID-19.
According to Maldives Tourism Minister Ali Waheed on his official statement said that the Maldives plans to reopen starting July 1. We plan to reopen our borders for visitors in July 2020.
Quoted from an official statement issued by the Maldives Ministry of Tourism dated May 30, 2020, recently stated that the country is ready to welcome tourists from Asian countries, including India, China, South Korea and Sri Lanka, and in the East The middle.
“A number of global airlines such as Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways are also said to be starting commercial operations and tourists who arrive by private plane or cruise ship are also allowed into the country,” he said.
He explained, however, the country would not entertain guests from 12 countries, including Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States. While visitors who come to the country will not be charged additional fees.
“Previously, the local Ministry of Tourism had also proposed additional tourist visa fees and landing fees, but according to the new guidelines, no additional fees would be imposed on tourists. We also want to ensure that our guests will not be charged any additional fees when entering Maldives,” Ali Waheed noted.
He remarked that the island nation of the Maldives is one of the countries that mostly rely on tourism. And according to the data, the tourism industry has contributed around 28% to the country’s GDP. However, the Maldives border was closed to tourists due to the COVID-19 pandemic starting in March 2020. This caused huge losses due to a drop in revenue from the tourism sector.
The Minister of Tourism also said that the country could not remain closed for long. So the authorities along with industry representatives are preparing guidelines to restart tourism in the Maldives starting in July. [antaranews/photo special]
