Minister of Tourism Dr Abdulla Mauoom, on Monday, announced that guesthouses in the Greater Male' Region would be permitted to resume operations on December 14.
In his announcement, the minister expressed gratitude towards President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the Health Protection Agency (HPA), the Health Emergency Operations Centre (HEOC), the Ministry of Health and the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) regarding the resumption of local tourism in the capital area following a nine-month period of closure.
Minister Mausoom revealed that all tourists staying at guesthouses in the Male' region would be required to present a negative PCR test conducted within 72 hours prior to departure.
The government prohibited guesthouses in the greater Male' area from accepting reservations on March 13, following the confirmed community spread of COVID-19 in the capital.
Although the remaining guesthouses across the archipelago were allowed to resume operations on October 15, the state did not permit establishments in the Male' region to reopen, as the area was the central focus of the COVID-19 outbreak in Maldives.
The Ministry of Tourism has repeatedly asserted that guesthouse operations must be conducted in accordance with a set of strict regulations.
Establishments are required to seek authorisation from respective local councils prior to submitting an application to the tourism ministry with a detailed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on how safety measures will be implemented.
According to HPA, wearing masks in public will be mandatory for both locals and tourists in islands where guesthouses resume operations.
Guidelines also stipulate that each guesthouse must have a separate isolation area based on bed capacity, for positive cases and close contacts, while flu clinics and designated vehicles for transportation must be present on every island where local tourism resumes.
Maldives reopened its borders to international passengers on July 15, after nearly four months since the state halted issuing on-arrival visas on March 27.
According to Maldives Immigration, a total of over 35,000 tourists visited Maldives during the month of November, marking the highest number of monthly arrivals since the country reopened its borders.
Although Maldives has noted a significant reduction in tourist arrivals compared to pre-COVID figures, the numbers have maintained a steady upward slope indicating a stable increase, but the country has a long way to go before pre-pandemic figures are achieved.
Prior to the border closure as a preventive measure amidst the ongoing pandemic, Maldives recorded an average of 4,200 visitors on the daily.
However, the Minister of Tourism earlier expressed hopes for the industry's recovery, estimating that 100,000 tourists would visit Maldives before the end of 2020. The tourism ministry expects a total of 500,000 arrivals for the year.
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