Due to a significant decline in tourist arrivals following the war in the Middle East, the government has decided to conduct additional activities to promote Maldives tourism in India, China, and Russia.
During a press conference held Thursday afternoon at the President's Office by the special ministerial committee working to resolve difficulties facing Maldivians due to the Middle East war, Tourism Minister Ibrahim Thoriq stated that although record numbers of tourists arrived in the first two months of this year, arrivals have dropped significantly this month because flights from Middle Eastern airlines, which bring 33 percent of tourists to the Maldives, have been canceled.
He mentioned that to find a solution to this issue, discussions are ongoing with the Ministry of Transport to start flights from additional airlines and to increase the number of flights from airlines currently operating in the Maldives.
"Since the places we need to focus on most right now are China, India, and Russia, work is being done to establish additional flights or increase frequencies from those places as well, and very significant progress has been achieved in that regard," Minister Thoriq said.
"Starting from early next month, we will put wider marketing efforts into India, China, and Russia."
According to Minister Thoriq, discussions are also being held with neighboring countries and the governments of countries from which the most number of tourists arrive in the Maldives to increase arrivals.
He noted that as Turkish Airlines is one of the most strongly operating airlines in the current situation of Maldives, discussions have been held with the Turkish government to further strengthen the airline's operations.
Minister Thoriq stated that bookings at many resorts for this month and next month have been canceled. However, bookings scheduled for that period have not yet been significantly affected. The Minister said that resorts are also providing concessions for canceled bookings or offering the opportunity to re-book without additional charges.
Minister Thoriq stated that the government has provided assistance to 1,680 tourists who were stranded in Maldives due to flight cancellations since the start of the war.
