Day: June 12, 2012

Maldives sponsors BBC weather in US$250,000 deal

Maldivian tourism authorities are pursuing private sector funding to secure advertising with prominent media networks such as CNN, after this week signing a sponsorship agreement with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

Deputy Tourism Minister Mohamed Maleeh Jamal told Minivan News that authorities were presently looking for ongoing partnerships within the country’s resort industry to help fund a year-long global media campaign to offset the impacts of negative international headlines believed to have affected tourism this year.

The government yesterday finalised a US$250,000 (Rf3.8million) advertising deal to promote the country’s tourism industry on the BBC through sponsorship of its weather services. Tourism authorities said the strategy reflected a collaboration between the government and the private sector to try and strengthen arrival numbers to the country.

Under the recently reinstated “Sunny Side of Life” branding, Maleeh said the sponsorship of the BBC’s weather services will run from June 18 to August 27 on both the BBC World TV service as well as the broadcaster’s website.

Pubic relations

In April, the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) confirmed the appointment of New-York based public relations agency Ruder Finn to “oversee the overall media coordination and achievement of PR related solution for destination Maldives.”

According a contract speculated to be worth over US$150,000 per month, Ruder Finn is required to work to: “ instill confidence in the tourism industry of the Maldives, gain understanding and public acknowledgement of the Maldives in the international community and ensure sustainable development of the tourism industry.”

Questioned whether the BBC sponsorship agreement was designed to try and generate greater media coverage about the Maldives on international news services, Maleeh claimed the MMPRC’s promotion plans were focused on tourism rather than generating headlines.

“At present we are trying to build investor confidence in the country,” he claimed. “There has been too much focus on stories such as how the Maldives will be sinking in 30 years.”

Maleeh pointed to recent coverage of several events in the lead up to February’s controversial transfer of power – such as former President Mohamed Nasheed’s proposed spa ban – as an example of headlines that had damaged confidence among tourists and investors in the Maldives.

The previous government under Nasheed claimed a spa ban introduced back in December 2011 was made in response to criticisms made against it during a demonstration of opposition politicians and NGOS relating to “un-Islamic” practices in the country.

“Mainstream” promotion

Once the present BBC sponsorship agreement ends in August, Maleeh added that the MMPRC and tourism authorities hoped to secure more funding to continue its advertising plans. He said that the motivation at present was to extend advertising ideally to “all mainstream media organisations” such as organisations like CNN.

Maleeh stressed that funding remained the biggest issue at present to extending advertising efforts.

“We are seeking support from local and international hospitality groups right now,” he said. “We are still waiting to receive support. However, other hotel chains have shown an interest.”

During the signing of the BBC agreement yesterday at the Conrad Rangali Island Resort, Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb welcomed the assistance of local business tycoons Mohamed ‘Champa’ Moosa and Mohamed Umar Maniku in securing the deal, according to local media.

Adheeb told Sun Online that authorities had decided to re-use the country’s “The Sunny Side of Life” branding due to previous experiences the industry had with the slogan, as well as negating costs associated with setting up an entirely new brand.

“Over the past years it has become a very expensive brand. I believe that if we were to opt for a rebranding it would in the least cost us US$50 million. We don’t have that much of a budget. The new government decided to go forward with the old brand,” he was quoted as telling local media.

Meanwhile, Vice President Waheed Deen, who was also present during the signing, lauded the financing of the new ad campaign as an “achievement” and a “success” for the country as it celebrates 40 years since the inception of Maldivian tourism during 2012.

“Coup” allegations

The 50,000 member-strong opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) maintains it was ousted from power on February 7 following what then President Mohamed Nasheed described as a coup d’état planned by political opposition, sponsored by some wealthy resort tycoons and carried out by a mutinous police and military. The party has continued to claim that President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s government is illegitimate and represents a return to the autocratic era of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Such criticisms of the present government have led to the establishment of the Maldives Tourism Advisory (MTA) by the Friends of Maldives NGO that names resorts alleged by the MDP to have involvement in the “coup”.

In April, the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) has issued a statement expressing “serious concern” over what it describes as a “concerted international campaign” against several of the country’s resort operators.

MATI claimed that calls from the Maldives Tourism Advisory (MTA) for tourists to avoid certain properties on the basis of ownership were “libellous in the extreme”, as the allegations against the tourist resort operators “have not been proven either through an investigation or a court of law.”

The MTA website features a ‘traffic light’ system with “red” resorts recently appearing to have been expanded to include an assortment of 18 properties owned by Vice President Waheed Deen and senior figures associated with the new ruling coalition, including Jumhoree Party (JP) Leader Gasim Ibrahim and Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) MP Abdulla Jabir.

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Government-majority committee rejects cabinet appointees

The Majlis’s Government Accountability Committee yesterday approved only one of four proposed cabinet members after half of the government coalition’s committee members failed to vote for them.

The governing coalition holds a majority of seats on the committee, with eight members compared to the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) three.

At yesterday’s committee meeting, only the proposed appointee for the Ministry of Gender, Dhiyana Saeed of the Jumhooree Party (JP), was approved by those present.

After the MDP members voted against Dhiyana’s appointment, the Chair of the committee and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Mohamed Mujuthaz cast the deciding vote in her favour.
The other  nominees – Dr Mohamed Muiz as Mohamed as Minister of Housing and Infrastructure, Dr Mariyam Shakeela as Minister of Environment and Energy, and Dr Ahmed Jamsheed Minister of Health – failed to get the required votes.

Three of the pro-government members of the committee failed to attend yesterday’s vote whilst another voted against the appointments, resulting in the failure to gain the votes required to approve three of the government’s candidates.

Following the government’s re-structuring of cabinet, two new members required parliamentary approval, whilst two others required the Majlis’s confirmation after changes to their ministerial portfolios.

MP for Feydhoo constituency Alhan Fahmy is reported by Haveeru to have voted alongside the three MDP members against the unsuccessful government nominees.

Fahmy now represents the Jumhoree Party (JP) in the Majlis after his recent defection from the MDP.

The Jumhoree Party held a council meeting yesterday evening during which it elected Dr Ibrahim Didi, another recent arrival from the MDP, at the party’s President following his uncontested candidacy.

Dr Didi, who was President of the MDP until its National Council voted him out on April 30, told Haveeru yesterday the appointment was “the happiest day of my political career.”

The JP has also announced that its council had backed Dr Didi to be the Health Minister – a position currently held by Dr Ahmed Jamsheed, whose appointment was one of those voted on earlier in the day.

Fahmy, who was unavailable for comment at the time of press, is said to have abstained from the vote concerning his fellow JP colleague Dhiyana, leaving only seven members to vote on her appointment.

Haveeru reported that the JP party leader Ibrahim Gasim will now talk to President Waheed about this proposed change to the cabinet.

The decision on these appointees will now move to the floor of the Majlis where President’s Office Spokesman Abbas Adil Riza is confident that they will still be approved.

Asked by Minivan News if the problems with the ministers’ approvals was indicative of greater problems within the governing coalition, Abbas responded, “no, it’s nothing like that”.

The cabinet changes entailed the division of the ‘Ministry of Health and Family’ into the ‘Ministry of Health’ and the ‘Ministry of Gender, Family and Human Rights’.

The ‘Ministry of Housing and Environment’ has now become the ‘Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure’ and the ‘Ministry of Environment and Energy’.

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GMR opens new air cargo office complex

Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) on Sunday opened a new office complex for the Maldives’ air cargo facility, and introduced a computerised records system to monitor and track cargo for the first time.

The first order on the new system, used by airport developer GMR at its other airports in India, was printed by chief guest Fisheries Minister Ahmed Shafeeu at the inauguration event.

“Previously it was done using stacks of paper, reams of it,” said CEO of INIA, Andrew Harrison, adding that the system would allow greater transparency and monitoring for customs officials.

The new office complex includes offices for airlines and customs officials, as well as sales counters, and greatly increases the amount of room available for storage. Other innovations included a women’s washroom: “Previously the ladies working here had to walk all the way down to the domestic terminal,” noted Harrison.

The new air cargo facilities give the Maldives the capacity to become a regional trans-shipment hub, Harrison explained, observing that airlines such as BA already used the Maldives to carry goods such as garments from Sri Lanka.

There was, he said, a ‘build it and they will come’ philosophy which had worked well for the company in Hyderbad following its opening of pharmaceutical storage facilities.

Particularly in such an import-dependent economy such as the Maldives, cargo was attractive to airlines as was a more consistent revenue stream compared to fluctuating ticket revenue, and more able to withstand economic shocks.

“When the 2003 SARS epidemic hit, Cathay Pacific only survived because by then it was deriving 43 percent of its revenue from cargo,” Harrison explained.

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Pension reform bill defeated in Majlis

A bill proposing to reduce the eligible age for the Basic Pension was defeated yesterday in the People’s Majlis.

The amendment to the 2009 Pension Act would have brought the age at which Maldivians could receive the state pension down to 60 from 65 years of age.

Yoosuf Naseem, the Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) MP for Felidhoo constituency, first introduced the bill last year. Yoosuf informed Minivan News that the bill was defeated by 38 votes to 27.

The current state pension is Rf2300 (US$149) a month. The country’s demographics suggested that the changes to the system could have added Rf138million (US$8.9million) to the governments financial obligations.

The government is forecast to be Rf9.1 billion (US$590million) over budget this year.

The bill had been criticised by the Capital Market Development Authority (CMDA), the pension industry’s regulator, as potentially damaging the country.

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Three police and an MNDF officer arrested for robbing expatriate workers

Police have arrested three police officers and a Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) officer after they allegedly robbed a large amount of cash from expatriate workers in a house near the State Bank of India (SBI) in Male’s Heniveru ward.

Newspaper Haveeru reported that one police officer was a member of the police investigations team, while another was a Special Operations (SO) officer.

Haveeru reported that the men entered the house and attacked and threatened the expatriate workers on Friday night around 9:00pm.

Two of the police officers were in uniform during the incident, according to Haveeru.

The paper reported that two police officers met one of the expatriates on the road and robbed him of his mobile phone, before heading towards the house the workers were living in.

Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef today confirmed to Minivan News that a robbery was reported to police on Friday night.

Haneef said he could not confirm whether police officers and a MNDF officer were involved in the robbery.

‘’There were Maldivians involved in it,’’ he said, adding that this was all the information that he could share regarding the case at the moment.

Online newspaper Manadhoolive has also reported the same incident.

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Bangladeshi prostitution ring busted in Male’

Police have arrested five Bangladeshi men and three Bangladeshi women in a crackdown on a Bangladeshi prostitution ring.

The five were arrested last night after raiding Mahchangolhi Rauha house, a place allegedly used for prostitution.

Police conducted a special operation on Monday night and entered the house with a court warrant. There were four rooms in the house and police saw illegal sexual activities carried out in three of the four rooms when they attended the scene, police said.

According to police, officers discovered items used for sexual activities and lots of foreign and Maldivian currency.

Police said the investigation into the case had revealed that the money was obtained through prostitution.

Furthermore, police advised landlords to find out who the tenants were before renting out their houses.

In April this year, police arrested seven Bangladeshi nationals over alleged involvement in a prostitution ring on premises suspected of operating as brothels.

The suspects – four female and three male – were apprehended during raids by police officers inside Ranfaunu house, based in the Mahchangolhi ward of Male’ on 9 April.

Last October, a prostitution ring that had trafficked Sri Lankan girls to Maldivian resorts via Male’ for the past six years was busted by Sri Lankan police, and is now being investigated by local authorities.

Last Saturday police arrested four Thai women and one Maldivian man for involvement in illegal sexual activities inside a beauty salon in Male’.

In May, two people were arrested at the “New Age” beauty salon for sexual misconduct.

In April police arrested two Thai women and two local men on prostitution charges after raiding a Male’-based business called ‘Maldivian Care’.

In March police arrested five Thai nationals and three male Maldivians inside ‘Herbal Beauty Salon’, located on the second floor of Maafannu Sherrif.

Lots of beauty salons in Male’ have been closed on prostitution charges after the new government came to power.

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MDP national council pass motion to “do whatever it takes to bring down coup regime”

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) National Council passed a motion on Monday agreeing to “do everything it takes” to bring down the “coup regime” of President Mohamed Waheed Hassan, by “all necessary means and sacrifices”.

The motion was proposed by the former chairperson of the National Social Protection Agency (NSPA), MDP constituency president of Haa Dhaal Nolhivaram constituency Ibrahim Waheed, and seconded by MDP MP Ahmed Sameer.

The motion stated that the initial three member panel of the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI), which President Waheed formed to investigate the controversial transfer of power on February 7, had failed to include several “key facts” in its timeline. Despite the absence of these facts, the timeline revealed the transfer was a coup d’état, the MDP stated.

It also stated that the report composed by Mohamed Aslam and Ameen Faisal revealed that the government of MDP was toppled illegitimately, and alleged that the perpetrators of the coup had planned to harm President Nasheed.

The motion further stated that current President Mohamed Waheed Hassan had played a pivotal role in the coup, self-proclaiming certain powers which President Nasheed had not delegated to him as per article 117 (a) of the constitution.

The motion concluded stating that the National Council believed that necessary action needed to be taken to bring down the illegitimate government by all means and any sacrifices needed in the process, until a legitimate people’s government was installed in the country.

During the debate over the motion, several members of the national council claimed that President Waheed had come to power in a coup d’état, and the party should do whatever it took to bring down the regime and install a democratic  government.

Members of the national council expressed concern over recurrent  police brutality, and claimed that this had increased to such an extent that some police and MNDF officers had begun openly robbing people on the street.

Speaking in the debate, ousted President Mohamed Nasheed said that despite the MDP refusing to recognise the initial composition of the CNI, the latest timeline released by the initial three member panel of CNI also implied that it was a coup.

Former MP for Thimarafushi Constituency, Mohamed Musthafa, said during the debate that the party must be willing to make sacrifices to ensure that the “legitimate” MDP government was reinstated, and the democracy was  reestablished.

“Coming out on the street once a week to show our hands and dance about and then go home is not a solution. We need a solution by any means possible,” he said.

He further said that the MDP should not be scared if sacrifice also meant going to prison.

During the vote for the motion, the motion was passed unanimously by the 55 attending members of the National Council.

Earlier, fresh protests erupted following a MDP National Council meeting held right next to the police barricades near the swimming tracks after police raided the MDP’s protest camp Usfasgandu. The clustered meeting of 43 members of the council took the stand that “enough was enough” and that party should take to the streets to get their constitutional rights.

Immediately, 400 protesters gathered in the area to challenge the legitimacy of police and demand the return of Usfasgandu, saying that they had not done anything violent. The protests triggered a brutal police crackdown leading to arrests and injuries.

Speaking to Minivan News, MDP Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said that the purpose of the motion meant that the party would stand firm and strong to defend the public rights.

“The National Council’s decision will be forwarded to a committee within the National Council, and they would decide how the party would act upon the motion. What I know is that we will stand strong to defend the public rights,” he said.

He also added that it was a part of party’s ongoing rally under the name of ‘Insaafuge Dhathuru’, translated as Journey to Justice, which began on February 17, just ten days after the MDP government was ousted.

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Maldives promotes Islamic tourism

The Maldives is pitching itself to the Islamic tourism market following a surge of interest in the destination from the Middle East region this year.

The Maldives registered a 77.8 percent increase in tourist arrivals from the region in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the same period last year, while traditional markets, including the UK and Italy, recorded steep declines.

Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture and head of the Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation (MMPRC), Mohamed Maleeh Jamal, highlighted the appeal of the Maldives as a destination for Islamic travellers during the recent World Islamic Tourism Mart (WITM) in Malaysia.

The event was held simultaneously alongside the Malaysia International Tourism Exchange (MITE) 2012, and the international conference on Muslim Tourism (InCoMTHU).

The MMPRC noted that during the conference, Jamal gave a presentation entitled ‘Maldives: A Perfect Destination for Muslim Travellers’.

“The Maldives is a perfect destination for these travellers as all the food items in the resorts are halal, apart from the pork and alcohol, and all the islands have mosques,” Jamal told Minivan News.

Alongside the Middle East, the MMPRC had identified Malaysia as a key emerging market, he said, with growth of 18 percent from January to May 2012, compared to the same period last year.

“Thirty percent of Malaysia’s population are Chinese and they are quite well off,” he noted, explaining that the existing adaptation of the resorts to accommodate the surge in Chinese
market growth would also attract guests from Malaysia.

A key appeal of the destination to the market was the isolation and privacy offered by resorts in the Maldives, Jamal explained.

“One of the unique things about rooms in the Maldives is that you can go seven days without seeing anybody,” he said. “Many resorts have rooms with private spas and pools – privacy one of the key market factors.”

One of the key drivers of the Middle Eastern market in the Maldives was increased investment from the region, he observed, particularly with the opening of properties such as Jumeriah.

“We’ve found that one of the best ways of building an emerging market is to get investment from that market,” Jamal said, explaining that this was also key to the early development of the Japanese market in the Maldives.

The introduction of Sharia-compliant tourism to the country, with the opening of a Lootah property expected in 2013, would build the appeal of the destination, Jamal said.

“There’s not much difference,” he explained. “One little thing might be that the prayer direction is indicated in the room, and designed so that people can pray inside. It’s a niche segment, and the Maldives is the perfect place to develop it as it has an open economy – just look at the blonde island.”

Tapping into emerging destinations was key to reaching the country’s goal of one million tourists in 2012, Jamal said, offsetting the decline in markets such as Italy, Spain and France due to the economic decline in Europe.

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