Tag: beach

Male’ City Council to put up sign boards in Male’ to stop tourists from swimming in bikinis

Following an incident yesterday in which a group of tourists arrived in Male’ and went swimming in the Artificial Beach wearing bikinis, Male’ City Council has decided to put up sign boards informing tourists that it is prohibited to swim in the area wearing bikinis.

Male’ City Council member Mohamed Shujau today told Minivan News that the decision to put up sign boards was to prevent such incidents from occurring.

‘’It will happen when large groups of tourists come to Male’,’’ Shujau said. ‘’We do not want to punish the tourists so we will try to put up sign boards as a method of prevention.’’

Shujau said the Male’ City Council was in an agreement with tour operator and agents responsible for bringing tourists to Male’ that they will inform tourists that wearing bikinis while in Male’ is not allowed.

He said the council was yesterday informed “by many people” about the incident, and requested the council look into the matter.

Secretary General of the Maldives Association of Yacht Agents (MAYA) told Minivan News that the council had informed the association about the tourists swimming in the Artificial Beach wearing improper clothing.

‘’We always inform tourists that it is not allowed to wear bikinis in Male’ under Maldivian regulations,’’ Mohamed Ali said. ‘’We informed the tourists that came yesterday that the only place in Male’ that is for swimming is the Artificial Beach, and informed them that Maldivians also swim there.’’

Mohamed Ali said the association also informed tourists that anything they wear had to cover up to their knees, and that it was inappropriate to wear bikinis.

He said Male’ City Council has asked MAYA to assist the council in putting up the sign boards, and said MAYA had agreed to help.

A large group of tourists arrived yesterday from a cruise liner carrying more than 3000 tourists, he added.

In February last year the Adhaalath Party complained that tourists had been wearing improper clothing and consuming alcohol on Hulhumale’ beach in public, and that the area was becoming “a place where Maldivian families cannot visit.”

Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed today told Minivan News that the issue was not related to the Islamic Ministry and that Islamic Ministry “has nothing to say about it.”

He said that the Islamic Ministry had not received any complaints regarding the issue.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Male’ City Council denies plans to erect signs banning ‘immodest dressing’

Male’ City Council member Ahmed Falah has denied media reports today that the council has decided to put up sign boards banning immodest dressing to discourage tourists from wearing bikinis on beaches and other public areas in the capital.

Local newspaper Haveeru reported Male’ City Council member Ibrahim Shujau as telling the paper that the council had received complaints from the public that tourists had been wearing improper clothing around the capital’s beach. He reportedly said the council met with the Tourism Ministry and decided to put up sign board to inform tourists that improper clothing was not allowed.

However, Falah today said that the council has not made any such decision.

‘’I am sure that the council has not decided anything like that,’’ Falah said. ‘’Media reports are incorrect.’’

Speaking to Minivan News earlier this year, Secretary General of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI), ‘Sim’ Mohamed Ibrahim acknowledged that such occurrences would be a challenge for the mid-market tourism ambitions of the Maldives.

“The way it is currently structured is that alcohol is banned and there is a dress code for inhabited islands. Unless the regulations are changed – and I’m not saying they should be relaxed – tourist areas will need to be separated from local areas. In Male’ people cannot drink alcohol openly and nobody wears bikinis – it isn’t a problem.”

Ibrahim suggested that unless there were demarcated tourist areas, “there will always be these kinds of issues. It’s not an Adhaalath party issue or necessarily a religious issue – Western tourist dress is very different from traditional Maldivian dress.”

In April this year The Criminal Court sentenced a man to six months imprisonment after he was found guilty of ‘skinny dipping’ (swimming naked) in the Artificial Beach in Male’.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)