Minister of Tourism Ali Waheed, on Sunday, stated that Maldives' tourism industry would remain stable despite the the disruption resulting from the global COVID-19 outbreak.
Speaking at a press conference held at the President's Office, the minister stated that the 125,827 bookings cancelled following the outbreak were offset by the 307,223 new reservations received by Maldives.
Additionally, he revealed that tourist arrivals had increased by 0.9 percent compared to the same period in 2019.
The minister guaranteed that necessary equipment would be made available to the 37,136 individuals employed in the tourism sector, 17,609 of whom are Maldivians. He also added that 500,000 masks were previously bought and stored with the industry's trust fund.
Minister Waheed urged all resorts to maintain transparency in conveying information assured that no single resort would struggle to implement measures.
He elaborated that the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak was experienced on a global level and stressed the necessity of a unified effort to effectively tackle the issue.
Furthermore, the minister guaranteed that the government has no plans to introduce an absolute restriction of tourists.
"Maldives will not announce a complete lockdown", he stated.
Highlighting that 70 percent of the economy was based on tourism, Minister Waheed stated that a total ban would result in any beneficial outcomes.
Sign In