Tourism is the largest economic industry in the Maldives, as it plays an important role in earning foreign exchange revenues and generating employment in the tertiary sector of the country. The archipelago of the Maldives is the main source of attraction to many tourists visiting the country worldwide.
Video Tourism in the Maldives
History
Tourism began in the Maldives in 1972. A United Nations mission on development which visited the Maldives Islands in the 1960s did not recommend tourism, claiming that the islands were not suitable. Ever since the launch of the first resort in Maldives in 1972, however, tourism in Maldives has flourished. The arrival of the first tourist group is estimated to have occurred in February 1972. Tourism in Maldives started with just two resorts with a capacity of about 280 beds. Kurumba Island Resort is the first resort which was opened in Maldives, followed by Bandos Island Resort. At present, there are over 105 resorts located in the different atolls constituting the Republic of Maldives. Over the past few decades, the number of tourists in Maldives has risen continuously. In 2009, local island guesthouses started popping up in the Maldives. This was thanks to a change in regulations that began to officially allow tourists to stay among the local population, rather than just on privately owned resort islands. In 2015, a total of 1.2 million tourists visited the Maldives, and another 1.5 million visited in 2016.
Current work is being undertaken to dramatically boost tourism numbers by constructing another 120 properties, which will include foreign developers such as the Four Seasons. It is estimated that another 100 new islands with 100 to 200 rooms each will be needed to reach a capacity capable of receiving 7.5 million visitors by 2018.
Maps Tourism in the Maldives
Arrivals by country
Most visitors arriving to the Maldives on short term basis, were from the following countries of nationality:
Natural beauty of the Maldives
The Maldives are known for their natural beauty including the blue ocean and white beaches, accompanied by clean air. The climate of the Maldives is ideal for visitors to get engaged in water sports such as swimming, fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling, water-skiing. windsurfing and kite boarding.
The natural beauty of the Maldives attracts tourists all over the world and every year. Its tourism industry is today the Maldives' largest revenue generator.
Due to their extraordinary underwater scenery and clean water, the Maldives is ranked among the best recreational diving destinations of the world. It was also reported to be the world's most desired honeymoon destination, according to a global survey by Agoda.com.
Overview of a typical tropical resort
A tourist resort in the Maldives typically consists of an exclusive hotel on its own island, with its population entirely made up of tourists and work force, with no local people or houses.
Those islands developed for tourism are typically 800 by 200 metres in size, and are composed of sand and coral to a maximum height of about 2 metres above the sea. In addition to its beach encircling the island, each island has its own "house reef" which serves as a coral garden and natural aquarium for scuba divers and snorkelers. The shallow water enclosed by the house reef also serves as a large natural swimming pool and protects swimmers from the ocean waves and strong tidal currents outside the house reef.
The buildings on a typical resort include rooms and suites reserved for use by its guests, restaurants, coffee shops, shops, lounges, bars, discos and diving schools. A portion of the island also contains staff lodgings and support services such as catering, power generators, laundry, and a sewage plant. On-island shops offer a wide range of products, such as souvenirs and artifacts. Most resorts offer a wide variety of activities such as aerobics, volleyball and table tennis.
Tourism on a budget
Until recently, tourism was restricted to resorts built on uninhabited islands where all services are offered on the island, with no contact with the general local population. Guests rarely move away from the resorts, which are managed mostly by foreign multinationals. Thus the resorts make only a small contribution to the local economy. Recently, tourist facilities on islands inhabited by locals have been legalised; this creates new jobs and allows more people to enjoy the gains from tourism.
One example of an inhabited island where "guest houses" are growing is Huraa, situated in Kaafu Atoll, one of the nearest locations to Malè's International Airport (only 20 km), where tourists can stay in a local guest house among island inhabitants.
Ecotourism in Maldives
There is some promotion of ecotourism in the Maldives, with resorts emphasizing recycling of heat that is wasted in producing electricity and stricter policies of waste disposal. Furthermore, the government aims to conserve the natural beauty of the islands before they made into resorts by enforcing laws such as prohibition of catching turtles and reduction in the damage caused to the coral reefs.
Nevertheless, the Maldives have frequently come under criticism for their lack of protection of the local shark populations, which have sharply decreased after being hunted extensively for decades. In some areas, sharks have entirely disappeared. Sharks are hunted primarily for their fins. Shark fins are exported from the Maldives to other countries in Asia, where they are regarded as a delicacy. The fins are amputated from the live animals, which are then thrown back alive into the sea.
Although this practice is prohibited by law in the Maldives, these laws are not respected or enforced by the local authorities.
In 2001, a local environmental organization called Seamarc/Marine savers (known onsite as Reefscapers), set up an ambitious program of reimplantation of coral in damaged areas, on the basis of resort sponsorship. Many thousands of tourist-sponsored "coral frames" have been successfully transplanted in many resort reefs like Kuda Huraa and Landaa Giraavaru, and are under close survey by marine scientists; they are a refuge for thousands of tropical species, and help to preserve and recover these fragile ecosystems.
Tourism workers and employers
Workers in the tourism industry are represented by the Tourism Employees Association of Maldives (TEAM). TEAM argues the 25,000 workers employed in the industry face poor conditions and have very low wages (between US$80 to US$235 monthly) given the cost of living. The employers' organisation is known as Maldives Association of Tourism Industry
See also
- Economy of the Maldives
- Visa policy of Maldives
- Ministry of Tourism (Maldives)
References
External links
- Official website of Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation
- Maldives Tourism and Civil Aviation
- Tourism Employees Association of Maldives (TEAM)
Source of article : Wikipedia
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