Maldives, on Saturday, welcomed its 100,000th tourist following the reopening of the country's border on July 15.
The Ministry of Tourism, Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC), Maldives Immigration and Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) identified Jasmin Burki, as the 100,000th tourist and held a celebratory event at Velana International Airport (VIA).
The tourist was escorted by officials of MMPRC and Maldives Immigration, following her arrival from Switzerland via Emirates and greeted by the Deputy Tourism Minister, the MMPRC Managing Director and the Controller General of Immigration as well as MACL's CEO and Managing Director.
This was followed by the presentation of a holiday voucher by the MMPRC Managing Director and a special gift by the CEO and Managing Director of MACL, as well as the Deputy Minister of Tourism.
"Surpassing the milestone of 100,000 tourists in advance of the projections is really encouraging", stated Minister of Tourism Dr Abdulla Mausoom.
He attributed the achievement to President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's decision to open Maldives' borders with a unified approach involving numerous state agencies as well as the entirety of the travel and tourism, while simultaneously prioritising traveller safety.
"Thanks to travel and tourism industry partners, employees, and associations; health professionals, related government authorities and councils; the diplomatic and international community, the team members of Immigration, Airports Company, Tourist Police, Port Health, Customs, MMPRC and Ministry of Tourism", added the minister.
Echoing the sentiments, Controller General of Immigration Mohamed Ahmed Hussain stated that the attainment of the milestone "gives us the assurance that, even under dire circumstances, we can achieve remarkable things by working together. With wishful thinking, dedication and significant innovation on the policy front, our tourism industry is coming back from the depths of collapse by a swift rebound in growth".
Welcoming and congratulating the tourist, MMPRC Managing Director Thoyyib Mohamed stated that "I am beyond thrilled to welcome the 100,000th visitor to the sunny side of life, today. This is indeed, the success of joint efforts and collaborations with everyone working in the tourism industry. Our teamwork ensured that we reached this stage during such challenging times".
"I would like to assure everyone that Maldives is one of the safest countries to visit right now and that we will work strategically in order for it to remain on top of the preferred tourist destinations".
According to MMPRC, achievements such as the arrival of the 100,000th tourist would further contribute to the success of the Maldivian tourism industry.
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. Guesthouses were permitted to resume operations and kick start local tourism on October 15.
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. At present, over 18 airlines are managing flights to and from Maldives.
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.
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