Photo credit: Presidential office
The Minister of Tourism, Hon Ali Waheed has announced that the majority of resorts are set to reopen in July and 11 airlines have already confirmed their slots to travel to the Maldives.
Speaking in the press conference held at the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC), Minister Ali Waheed said that 41 resorts have confirmed their reopening before the date finalization and so far, 30 more resorts have requested for permits to reopen. Moreover, he also mentioned that resorts that are due to reopen will also soon follow and start serving the visitors.
He expects a total of 75 resorts to reopen their business to serve visitors in July.
“The Maldives operates around 150 resorts. More than half would be operational by July. The industry is working to do so. The majority of the remaining resorts will reopen by August. Few resorts have provided dates and are holding off on reopening until September, October. We believe that the dates of these resorts will also be sped up with the announced date (for reopening).” said Minister.
Furthermore, Minister Ali Waheed stated that 11 airlines have reserved their slot of operations prior to the final reopening dates, and previously operated airlines before the pandemic were also in discussions to restart their operations. He also said that out of all the airlines, the majority will restart their operations and the remaining airlines have assured that they would restart in August.
According to the Minister, three flights are already scheduled to fly in on the reopening day of July 15, and the first flight would probably arrive in the morning.
Minister Ali Waheed also assured that Velana International Airport is fully prepared to provide all the necessary service to the visitors. He also assured that resorts will fully prepare for the new normal by following the guidelines published by the authority. In addition to the guidelines, resorts have made their own Standard Operating Procedures to ensure the safety of the tourists and their employees.
The government has set a target of 850,000 tourists’ arrival into the Maldives for this year.
