Tourism Minister Thoriq Ibrahim stated today that 496 flights to the Maldives have been cancelled so far due to the middle East war.
Speaking at today’s press briefing by the special ministerial committee established to identify and take measures against the impacts of the war, Minister Thoriq said that the average daily tourist arrivals to the Maldives this month have decreased by 1,150 tourists due to the war.
The Minister stated that the highest priority at the moment is to increase flight frequencies and start operations by making agreements with new airlines. In this regard, he said work is currently underway to sign and begin flights with Ethiopian Airlines as well.
"We are working on discussing with airlines to increase frequency and bringing in airlines from additional countries," he said.
While more than six hundred thousand tourists have arrived in the Maldives so far this year, 143,000 tourists arrived this month. That is an 18 percent decrease compared to last year.
Thoriq stated that BML is also providing assistance to help with the financial difficulties resorts are facing during this period.
He said that digital campaigns are being increased, targeting destinations such as India and China to increase tourist arrivals from those markets.
"Destination marketing efforts are being carried out. A digital campaign targeted at India and ASEAN markets that will receive more than 200 million impressions will begin this week. And specifically, digital campaigns will be carried out targeting India and specific states of India," he said.
With the strikes initiated by the US and Israel against Iran a month ago and Iran's retaliatory strikes beginning to hit other countries in the region, major obstacles have been faced by air travel in countries such as the UAE and Qatar. As flights that bring the most tourists to the Maldives had to be significantly reduced, thousands of people were stranded in the Maldives while a large number of bookings to the Maldives are also being cancelled.
