Guesthouses reopen in Greater Male' area

Guesthouses in the Greater Male' Region reopened doors for tourists on Monday, after a nine-month period of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At present, 15 guesthouses in the area have recommenced operations upon receiving clearance from the Ministry of Tourism.

Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, a total of 82 guesthouses operated in the capital region, collectively accounting for 2,342 beds.

Although the remaining guesthouses across the archipelago were allowed to resume operations on October 15, the state did not permit establishments in the capital region to reopen, as the area was the central focus of the COVID-19 outbreak in Maldives.

Authorities have repeatedly asserted that guesthouse operations must be conducted in accordance with a set of strict regulations.

While all tourists staying at guesthouses in the Male' region for more than 48 hours must present a negative PCR test conducted within 72 hours prior to departure, guesthouse employees must undergo testing on a monthly basis.

Overall, guesthouse 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 the Health Protection Agency (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.

On December 12, Maldives recorded the arrival of the 100,000th tourist following the removal of travel restrictions.

Although Maldives has noted a significant reduction in tourist arrivals compared to pre-COVID figures, there has been a gradual increase with the establishment of travel bubbles between Maldives and other countries, as well as greater connectivity in terms of flight operations.

It is anticipated that the 500,000 tourists will arrive before the end December and that Maldives will reach peak arrival rates during the year of 2021.