The UK travels firms has reported a surge in bookings for the Maldives. From 25 October 2020, the Maldives was included in the UK’s Global Travel Advisory list, which allows travelers to return to the UK from the Maldives without undergoing mandatory self-isolation.
Bookings from UK tour operators have risen significantly, as UK tourists fly to the Maldives for the warm sun and white sand beaches for the upcoming holiday season.
A near 500% increase in bookings to the archipelago was made from October to December, from multiple tour operators in the UK, including Advantage Travel Partnership, Barrhead Travel, and Jet2holidays.
Advantage Travel Partnership’s leisure director Kelly Cookes said, “Since the announcement last week that UK travelers are able to visit the Canary Islands and the Maldives, this has provided a glimmer of hope to travel agents up and down the country and consumers in search of some winter sun. There is definitely pent-up demand from travelers and we are seeing a very late booking market because of the unpredictability of destinations being added and removed from the UK government’s quarantine list. We hope that this positive step forward for the industry continues throughout the winter season with the addition of more countries deemed safe for travel.”
Meanwhile, British Airways has also resumed its direct winter service to the Maldives. This is expected to contribute immensely to the tourism industry of the Maldives, as the sector declined due to inflictions caused by the global pandemic. However, with contributions from numerous marketing campaigns as well, the tourism industry is already in steady recovery, as the Maldives witnesses a surge in arrivals since borders were reopened on 15 July 2020.
