Day: December 23, 2009

Future of Maldives tourism: exclusive or mid-market?

The Maldives is known for its high end world class resorts. Popular among the rich and famous, it seems the right amount of money can buy you some tropical privacy in the modern hectic world.

This privacy and seclusion of many Maldivian resorts is what makes them unique. This is what differentiates the Maldives from its competitors, and over the last few years many new exclusive resorts have sprung up.

These high end resorts, and the tourism sector as a whole, are an important part of the Maldivian economy: in 2008, the sector contributed 27.2% of the Maldivian GDP.

However several recent surveys suggest a vast majority of people are finding the price of a Maldivian getaway too expensive. Discussions on well-known travel forums such as Tripadvisor.com show that many guests and potential tourists are off put by the high prices.

Feelings on the issue are mixed. Many visitors, especially families, look for a cheaper option, while honeymooners are more willing to pay the extra dollars for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

There is demand from the high end markets for exclusive resorts. Ahmed Solih, permanent secretary for the tourism ministry noted that “expensive is a term dictated by demand & supply”.

Yet according to Solih, the development of a mid-market tourism sector in the Maldives  catering to the huge global middle class has always been on the government’s agenda.

“We lease the land to the developer, but it’s the private sector that makes the decision on who they will cater for,” said Solih.

The many tour operators and resort developers opt to cater for the high end market due to the proven profitable returns.

Solih continued: “In the Maldives, each resort has its own power and water generation, each resort is self sufficient, and for every head staying, there are two staff and they also live on site. This makes resorts a very expensive operation to maintain,” he said.

However the recent regulations allowing guest houses on inhabited islands and the introduction of a national transportation system (the Maldivian Dhoni Services, or MDS) has the potential to open the country to the mid-market tourist sector.

Former Minister of Tourism Abdulla Mausoom said ” it is vital to maintain the exclusive image that we have created for the Maldives, but with careful management, a venture into the mid-market sector is important.”

Both Solih and Mausoom said that it was not just a matter of accommodation, and that the infrastructure had to be in place for this new market.

Currently, guests are whisked off to their destinations on expensive seaplanes or fast boats to their destinations. If the mid-market sector is to gain a foothold in the country, a proper transportation system needs to be in place.

Another potential market for the Maldives is the Indian and Chinese middle class. India currently has the largest middle class in the world consisting of nearly 300 million people, contributing US$380 billion to the consumer market.

With such a large market at such a close proximity, it is surprising that only 2.4 per cent of the country’s tourists arrive from India.

Speaking on this issue, Solih noted that ” it is true that the Indian market has huge potential. According to World Trade Organisation (WTO), one in five tourists are now Indian. The reason that Indians do not come here is because our current packages are not desirable for them.

“Most Indians would come for a couple of days, at the most, and they look for duty free shopping complexes,” Solih claimed.

Indians like many Maldivians, love to go shopping when they are overseas. If we are to cater for these new emerging markets, we must plan on what it is they are looking for.

“The success of the tourism industry in the Maldives has been due to carefully planned expansion,” Mausoom.

The current system is well established, and has reaped benefits for the Maldives. It is now up to the developers and tour operators to decide whether they are willing to cater for the new markets that are out there.

Likes(0)Dislikes(1)

Childline inundated with calls in first month

The Maldives’ new children’s helpline has been inundated with calls despite only being launched in mid-November, on the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

“We haven’t even started advocacy work and already we’ve received 400 calls in the first month,” said Munzir Ismail, consultant at the Department of Family and Gender. The Child Helpline call centre had been expecting around 270 calls.

Half the calls were requests for information, guidelines and procedures while 37 provided information leading to cases, 15 involving sexual abuse. Four of those calls were made by children themselves, three to report sexual abuse.

“This is the first time [the department] has received any cases from a child,” Munzir said. “Before the helpline we were notified by letters, government agencies and especially the police. But there’s never been a case reported by a child.

One call involved a child ringing up “to say she had been exposed to a lot of sexual abuse in a house and her parents had moved her for her studies. She had told her parents but nothing was done.”

The girl was relocated with a guardian, he said.

“I wasn’t expecting kids to call in the first month, but feedback from them has been that they think this is a good service. There is a lot of harassment in some households, physical and emotional, and for some children it can seem like the end of the road,” he explained.

Interestingly, almost 60 per cent of the calls were made from the atolls. 18 were prank calls while 14 had been silent, Munzir said, suggesting that perhaps children “were being hesitant.”

The social workers tasked with responding to the calls were mindful of making visits that would place the child in a position they might not want to be in at home, he said.

“We try to establish regular contact with the child if counsellors are required.”

The next step for the project was establishing advocacy programs and conducting awareness campaigns and workshops in the atolls on subjects like rights and sexual abuse, Munzir said.

“The Child Helpline is currently operating as a referral and intervention service, and while we have been using departmental counsellors we don’t have the capacity to offer a counselling service,” he added. “We are hoping to work with NGOs to operate the call centre and expand the service, and we’re willing to offer training.”

The toll free Child Helpline number is 1412

Likes(1)Dislikes(0)

National badminton tournament 2009

The national badminton tournament for 2009 has come to an end with Mohamed Ajfaan Rasheed taking out the men’s first division title for the fourth year running.

Moosa Nashid and Nashih Sharafudheen won the men’s doubles while Neela Ahmed and Nejeeba Aishath won the women’s doubles.

The mixed doubles were taken out by Mohamed Ajfaan Rasheed and Neela Ahmed.

Ali Amir, the president of the badminton association, handed out all the trophies. Haveeru reported that as a gesture of support for the atoll teams, all playing equipment was gifted to them by the badminton association.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Rock thrown into Holiday Inn head office

The glass door of the Holiday Inn head office in Male’ was smashed yesterday, reports Haveeru.

A police media official said the glass door of the office at the Maarana building in Ameenee Magu was smashed and the investigation was ongoing.

Brett Wilson, general manager of Holiday Inn Male’, said a rock was thrown into the head office between 6am and 7am yesterday.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

New licence required to export fish to Europe

All organisations involved in the export of fish to Europe must carry a special licence from next month.

The Maldives Seafood Processing and Export Association said that from next year they will only accept fish from vessels carrying this license.

Haveeru reports that the Fisheries Ministry will issue licenses for free until the end of December. After that licences be issued at a price depending on the length of the vessel.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

3rd division match to be replayed

A football game between the Police and MNDF clubs in the national 3rd  division will be replayed due to referee error.

MNDF won the match 1-0 on 14 December. However referee Ahmed Ameez was found to be in the wrong when he ordered the retaking of a penalty that was put away by the Police Club. Even after the second attempt was put away he judged it to be a foul and gave MNDF club a free kick.

According to Haveeru, the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) issued a statement saying that according to FIFA laws the match must be replayed, and said action would be taken against Ameez.

There has been no date scheduled for the replay, while the three points awarded to the MNDF have now been removed.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

More mistakes found in Qur’an translation

Minister of State for Islamic Affairs, Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, claimed that the government’s translation of the Holy Qur’an contains more mistakes.

Miadhu reported that mistakes were found when the President’s Office first published the translation in 2008, including mixed volumes and verses. More errors were discovered during the corrections, it reported.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Gratuity scheme to generate income for marine park

Luxury resort Diva Maldives has introduced a voluntary gratuity scheme to encourage guests to contribute to the whale shark conservation.

The resort is located in the Maldives’ first regulated Marine Protected Area (MPA), Fenmaadhiguran, which is home to a globally significant number of whale sharks. The resort claims that the income from the gratuity scheme will allow improved business, education and employment opportunities for the local community.

The 42 kilometre MPA was opened in July after lobbying by the conservation charity Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme. The charity claims the MPA will protect important species and habitats in the area from overfishing, unregulated tourism and pollution.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Man dies in serious accident

A man who was involved in a serious road accident on the Addoo link road yesterday morning has died from his injuries.

The 43 year old man was driving a car which was involved in a head on collision with a motorcycle heading in the opposite direction. He died while being treated in the Hithadhoo hospital.

The two motorcyclists, aged 19 and 21, were flung into the ocean. They are now being treated for their injuries.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)