Managing Director of the Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation (MMPRC) Abdulla Ziyath believes the government’s Thumburi integrated resort project will increase visitors to the Maldives by 150,000.
“The market had become quite stagnant, as there were not many new hotels on the way and we were becoming perceived as a place just for five-star tourists,” Ziyath told TTG while at the World Travel Market (WTM) in London.
“This addresses those issues and for the first time enables small businesses to invest; in fact we are actively discouraging the main existing resort owners from being a part of Thumburi”.
The government’s integrated resort project – or ‘vertical tourism’ – is designed to “responsibly diversify the tourism product of the Maldives”, says the MMPRC, after the rapid expansion of guest houses on inhabited islands under the presidency of Mohamed Nasheed between 2008 and 2012.
Some within the industry have expressed fears over the guest house’s impact on the Maldives image as a luxury travel destination, although critics of the new scheme say the multi-ownership guest house island concept will not bring the same benefit to local communities.
Ziyath spoke during the WTM, at which it unveiled the Thumburi project. The event features 146 representatives from 54 countries and is to conclude tomorrow.
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What a carp. Guest houses were not developed druign Nasheed regime and only few places were initiated and run by individual private owners near by Male' atoll.
After seen the success of those guest housed, Nasheed jump in and started making so much ha too about that.
The real pioneer of the guesthouse is from Maafushi and thats the evolution of guest house in Maldives.
@hero
You ask mr naseer of maafushi,hlow it started and evolved.Your hatred fro mr nasheed has blinded you so much.Probably.I think your idols are musailamathul kazzab bin Imran and omar bin Abdul naseer
@hero
Your moronic brain probably failed to grasp the saying "the hardest pill to swallow is the pill of truth"
@hero
Your moronic brain fails to understand that heros are not made ,but heros are born.Im not seeing Your idol Yamin becoming a hero,but your nemesis nasheed is already one.if he isn't he must be in the best david copperfiled in the whole world
@Hero: At least Nasheed tried to improve the lives of us common citizens.
You guys aren't even trying on that regard. All you want is more money so you can go party in Bangkok.