At Amillafushi in Baa Atoll, guests are required to undergo a second COVID-19 test on arrival, so they can enjoy a mask-free holiday [Courtesy of Amillafushi]
At Amillafushi in Baa Atoll, guests are required to undergo a second COVID-19 test on arrival, so they can enjoy a mask-free holiday [Courtesy of Amillafushi] By Zaheena Rasheed 7 Oct 2020 Male, Maldives – Even as they gradually began tiptoeing out of months-long lockdowns earlier this year, many countries – fearing travellers might fuel new COVID-19 outbreaks – opted to keep border restrictions in place.
China set tight controls, barring all foreign arrivals and nearly all departures, as Thailand and Australia hinted their borders could remain closed until the end of the year. Tunisia and Kenya said most arrivals would need to present proof of negative tests for entry, while France and Spain warned the United Kingdom of tit-for-tat quarantine measures. One tiny country, however, decided to take a different path.
KEEP READING Israeli government extends ban limiting public protests Can widening income inequality ever be bridged? Thirteen charged in ‘plots’ against Michigan governor Trump, Pelosi tout stimulus progress but differ on scope of deal On July 15, the Indian Ocean archipelago of Maldives threw open its borders to everyone. Visitors would not need negative results for entry, the tourism-dependent island nation declared, and would not be subject to quarantine measures of any kind – a policy some in the tourism sector called “courageous” and also “a little bit crazy”.
“The Maldives needs tourism,” Abdulla Mausoom, an industry veteran who was appointed the Maldives’ tourism minister in mid-August, told Al Jazeera. “When tourism stops, everything stops. We have no choice but to carry on.”
Famed for their pristine beaches and turquoise waters, the Maldives’ 1,192 coral islands are scattered in ring-like chains across the equator, while the country’s 156 upmarket resorts, which make up the backbone of the tourism sector, are located on private islands.
We are confident we can ensure the safety of our guests – because our geography enables us to do it,” he said.
“You just land at the airport and you will be picked up by dedicated transport for your particular resort and you enjoy a very private and a very safe stay. There’s no place safer.”
Double negatives To prepare for the new arrivals, the government built intensive care units and scaled up testing facilities in several regions. For their part, the resorts established unprecedented safety and hygiene measures. Some even conducted PCR tests for their guests on arrival, until the government – alarmed by minor outbreaks on a few resorts – made a U-turn in August and said that visitors would need to have a negative test taken within 72 hours before they would be allowed in. On September 15, the World Travel and Tourism Council certified the Maldives – a country of 450,000 people that has so far recorded more than 10,000 cases but only 34 deaths – a safe destination.
Even so, some islands continued to conduct tests for their guests on arrival.
“We are doing everything possible to keep our property COVID-free,”
said Jason Kruse, manager of the resort at Amillafushi in Baa Atoll. “Once our guests get a negative result on the second test, they can roam around the island mask-free.”
In North Male atoll, resorts such as Summer Island went completely paperless, relying on digital tools for check-in and access to restaurant menus, while nearby Coco Bodu Hithi announced daily temperature screenings of guests and said it would leave its villas vacant for 24 hours before allowing new guests to check-in.
These measures do have an impact on our operations and guest experience,” said Mariya Shareef, resort manager at Summer Island. “For example, we are unable to accommodate as many guests as we’d like on our property due to social distancing measures … We have discontinued group entertainment and excursions, and instead offer private events and excursions to avoid groups
But, she added, “this also means that the guest experience is more private and exclusive than before.” So, with the open border and enhanced safety measures, how is the Maldives doing? Not too well, if official figures of arrivals are anything to go by. Three months on, just 18,596 people have visited the country – a fraction of the pre-pandemic average of 141,000 tourists a month.
The plunge in arrivals has devastated the Maldives’ economy, halving government revenue, throwing thousands of people out of work and putting pressure on the value of the Maldivian rufiyaa. Tourism accounts for more than two-thirds of the Maldives’ GDP and the World Bank estimates its economy could shrink by nearly 9 percent this year. Already, the government has turned to its powerful neighbour, India, for financial aid, obtaining $250m in budget support.
Against the bleak economic backdrop, some have expressed fears about food security in an island nation that imports more than 90 percent of its food.
Flights, travel advisories and ‘leisure bubbles
The issue, according to Mausoom, was that even though the Maldives was open for business, many governments across the world remained reluctant to let their citizens travel.
“Restrictions on travel is the main challenge,” the minister said. “For arrivals to increase, we need more airlines to come in.”
News | Coronavirus pandemic Maldives pulls out all the stops as COVID-19 devastates tourism Maldives introduces one of the most open border policies in the world as COVID-19 hits lucrative tourism sector. At Amillafushi in Baa Atoll, guests are required to undergo a second COVID-19 test on arrival, so they can enjoy a mask-free holiday [Courtesy of Amillafushi] At Amillafushi in Baa Atoll, guests are required to undergo a second COVID-19 test on arrival, so they can enjoy a mask-free holiday [Courtesy of Amillafushi] By Zaheena Rasheed 7 Oct 2020 Male,
Maldives – Even as they gradually began tiptoeing out of months-long lockdowns earlier this year, many countries – fearing travellers might fuel new COVID-19 outbreaks – opted to keep border restrictions in place.
China set tight controls, barring all foreign arrivals and nearly all departures, as Thailand and Australia hinted their borders could remain closed until the end of the year. Tunisia and Kenya said most arrivals would need to present proof of negative tests for entry, while France and Spain warned the United
Kingdom of tit-for-tat quarantine measures. One tiny country, however, decided to take a different path. KEEP READING Israeli government extends ban limiting public protests Can widening income inequality ever be bridged? Thirteen charged in ‘plots’ against Michigan governor Trump, Pelosi tout stimulus progress but differ on scope of deal On July 15, the Indian Ocean archipelago of Maldives threw open its borders to everyone. Visitors would not need negative results for entry, the tourism-dependent island nation declared, and would not be subject to quarantine measures of any kind – a policy some in the tourism sector called “courageous” and also “a little bit crazy”. “The Maldives needs tourism,” Abdulla Mausoom, an industry veteran who was appointed the Maldives’ tourism minister in mid-August, told Al Jazeera.
“When tourism stops, everything stops. We have no choice but to carry on.” Famed for their pristine beaches and turquoise waters, the Maldives’ 1,192 coral islands are scattered in ring-like chains across the equator, while the country’s 156 upmarket resorts, which make up the backbone of the tourism sector, are located on private islands. The Maldives comprises of 1,192 coral islands and resorts such as this one – Summer Island – are located on private islands [Courtesy of Summer Island Maldives] This exclusivity, according to Mausoom, is a major advantage. “We are confident we can ensure the safety of our guests – because our geography enables us to do it,”
he said. “You just land at the airport and you will be picked up by dedicated transport for your particular resort and you enjoy a very private and a very safe stay. There’s no place safer.”
Double negatives To prepare for the new arrivals, the government built intensive care units and scaled up testing facilities in several regions. For their part, the resorts established unprecedented safety and hygiene measures. Some even conducted PCR tests for their guests on arrival, until the
government – alarmed by minor outbreaks on a few resorts – made a U-turn in August and said that visitors would need to have a negative test taken within 72 hours before they would be allowed in. On September 15, the World Travel and Tourism Council certified the Maldives – a country of 450,000 people that has so far recorded more than 10,000 cases but only 34 deaths – a safe destination. Even so, some islands continued to conduct tests for their guests on arrival.
“We are doing everything possible to keep our property COVID-free,” said Jason Kruse, manager of the resort at Amillafushi in Baa Atoll. “Once our guests get a negative result on the second test, they can roam around the island mask-free.” In North Male atoll, resorts such as Summer Island went completely paperless, relying on digital tools for check-in and access to restaurant menus, while nearby Coco Bodu Hithi announced daily temperature