Russia to resume flights to Maldives

The government of Russia, on Thursday, announced its decision to resume flights to Maldives.

According to Russian media outlets, Russia's Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin, signed a directive approving two weekly flights to Velana International Airport (VIA), as well as regular transfers to Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

Following the Maldivian government's decision to reopen borders open to international passengers on July 15, Russia consistently ranked on the top ten list of countries which accounted for the highest number of tourist arrivals.

As per Maldives Immigration, 423 Russian tourists arrived in the country during August, representing the fifth highest number. In July, Russia ranked eighth with 58 Russian holidaymakers travelling to Maldives.

Despite the lifting of restrictions, Maldives has noted a significant reduction in tourist arrivals compared to pre-COVID figures, with arrivals for July 2020 representing only 1.3 percent of those recorded in 2019.

Overall, only 9,329 tourist have arrived in Maldives following the reopening of borders.

However, Minister of Tourism Dr Abdulla Mausoom has stated that the government is expecting an additional 100,000 tourist arrivals before year end.

Although Maldives reopened borders with extremely lenient guidelines, the government recently announced that, in a move to strengthen safety measures, tourists will be mandated to present a negative PCR certificate upon arrival from September 10 onwards.

At present, tourists are permitted to enter the country without observing quarantine or presenting negative PCR certificates. They are only tested for the virus before departure from Maldives.

As with numerous countries around the world, in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Maldives closed its air and sea borders to tourist arrivals on March 27, halting the issuance of on-arrival visas until July 15.

The restrictions on international travel left Maldives' heavily tourism reliant economy in an extremely vulnerable state. In mid-April, the World Bank projected that Maldives would be the worst-hit economy in the South Asian region due to the pandemic.

Overall, Maldives estimates a shortfall of approximately USD 450 million (MVR 6.9 billion) in foreign currency and a state deficit of MVR 13 billion in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the tourism industry.