Category: News in Brief

Chinese travellers less interested in Maldives according to Travelzoo survey

The popularity of the Maldives as a tourist destination among Chinese travellers has dropped according a survey conducted by Travelzoo Asia Pacific, the Wall Street Journal reports.

According to survey results 21.3 percent of the respondents chose the Maldives as their most favoured holiday destination, a drop of 2.4 percent from the previous year, while Japan and the United States of America were ranked first and second respectively.

The survey’s respondents, which included 4,300 people, were asked to choose their most favoured holiday destinations from a list of 44.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the possible reasons for the change in Chinese travel trends may be attributed to the recent airplane accidents that have occurred in the Eastern regions of Asia as well as growing “interest in exploring new lifestyles and destinations less fixated on shopping”.

The Chinese tourism market is the fastest growing in the world, with Chinese tourists now representing over 30 percent of all visitors to the Maldives.

Travelzoo is a travel and entertainment company with over 27 million members, specialising in hospitality and travel deals.

Source: Wall Street Journal

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Two arrested for attempting to smuggle 8 bottles of alcohol into Malé

The Maldives Police Service (MPS) has arrested two individuals who were attempting to smuggle eight bottles of alcohol into Malé from Hulhumalé.

A police statement said that both were Bangladeshi nationals who were trying to smuggle the bottles by hiding them under the seat of a motorcycle which was to be transported to Malé via ferry.

Hulhumalé police officers searched their vehicle after they had been observed behaving suspiciously near the ferry terminal. The case is being investigated by the Hulhumalé police station and the MPS drug enforcement department.

The run up to New Year’s eve saw a large amount of alcohol confiscated in the Malé area, with police reporting seven individuals taken into custody in a period of two days at the end of December in Hulhumalé.

Police also confiscated 70 bottles of liquor and 70 cans of beer with a street value of MVR200,000 (US12,970) from Faamudheyrige in Maafannu ward in Malé.

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MP Mahloof presents David Beckham with Maldives football shirt

Galolhu South MP Ahmed Mahloof has presented former footballer David Beckham with Maldivian national football shirt.

The Progressive Party of Maldives MP tweeted a picture of his meeting with the former Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan, and LA Galaxy star.

Beckham has been holidaying in the Maldives with his family over the New Year period.

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President ratifies extradition and legal assistance acts

President Abdulla Yameen has today ratified four bill passed by the Majlis during the final term of 2014.

The Extradition Act was passed on December 25, allowing for the transfer of accused and convicted persons between the Maldives and other extradition countries.

Also ratified today was the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act, the passage of which will enable greater financial cooperation between stakeholders during criminal trials.

Amendments to the Land Act and the Banking Act of Maldives were also ratified and published in the government gazette.

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Loan programme announced for producers of agriculture and fish products

Licensed producers of commodities from the agricultural fisheries sector are to be given financial assistance as loans, the government has announced.

According to an announcement made on the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture website today (January 5), the loans will be given under the ‘Fisheries and agriculture Diversification Programme’ and will have an interest rate of 9 percent.

The maximum amount loaned to one single party will not exceed MVR400,000 (US$25,940) and the minimum amount is MVR25,000 (US$1,621) the ministry explained.

The loan programme, funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), will give special consideration to women entrepreneurs, companies involved in adding value to fish, and parties who are currently not financially indebted.

The loan applications are open from today until the end of January, and will require applicants to propose a business plan along with other relevant application forms and documents.

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BML increases its banking fees

The Bank of Maldives (BML) has increased its fees for rufiyaa and US dollar accounts starting from last Thursday (January 1), reports Haveeru.

The national bank is reported to have increased the minimum amount of money to be held in the accounts from MVR100 to MVR200 in rufiyaa accounts, and from US$10 to US$50 in dollar accounts.

According to Haveeru, a new schedule of charges released by BML states that current and savings accounts are now opened with a fee of MVR200, while dollar accounts are opened with a fee of US$50.

In addition, BML is to charge inactive rufiyaa accounts with MVR30 per month while charging US$3 from dollar accounts.

Haveeru also reported that the bank has decided to charge MVR5 for transactions under MVR10,000 at bank counters while charging US$1 for transactions under US$640.

Source: Haveeru

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Maldivian to start flights to three new Chinese destinations

Maldives’ national carrier Maldivian has announced that it will be starting flights to three new Chinese destinations in February.

A tweet from the airline revealed that the it will be operating flights to Nanjing City, Xi’an, and Changsha.

Maldivian already operates two flights to the cities of Chengdu and Woohan, while also operating flights to Trivandrum and Chennai in India, and Dhaka in Bangladesh.

The Chinese tourism market is the fastest growing in the world, with Chinese tourists now representing over 30 percent of all visitors to the Maldives.

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GDP to increase from 8.5 to 10.5 percent in 2015, says MMA

Growth in the tourism and construction industry is expected to push GDP to 10.5 percent in 2015, up from 8.5 percent in 2014, reports the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).

The authority’s Monthly Economic Review for December showed that tourist arrivals for the month of November stood at 89,778 – a decline of 5 percent compared to same point in 2014, and 19 percent compared to the previous month.

“The monthly and annual decrease in arrivals was largely contributed by the decline in arrivals from Asia and Europe”, reported the MMA.

Furthermore, the review also stated that although fish purchases increased 14 percent from September, they fell to 4003.4 metric tonnes in November – registering a decline of 50 percent. The review also reported an 11 percent decline in fish export revenue in November, compared to the same month in 2013.

“The growth in fish volume exports can be attributed to the increase in volume of frozen yellowfin tuna exports,” explained the MMA. “As for the decline in fish export earnings, this was mainly due to the fall in export earnings from frozen skipjack tuna”.

Meanwhile, the figures revealed that the inflation rate dropped from 2.1 percent in October to 1.1 percent in November due to the slow pace at which transport and food prices rose.

The total monthly state revenue grew by 9 percent in September, amounting to MVR1 billion (US$64.9 million), with a decrease in expenditure of 2 percent. The surge in revenue for this period resulted from a “13% growth in tax revenue and a 25% increase in non-tax revenue” while the decrease in expenditure resulted from the 2 percent fall in recurrent expenditure, according to the review.

However, the MMA note that the balance of payments had worsened by 13 percent in October compared to the corresponding month in the previous year due to a 3 percent increase in imports accompanied by a 37 percent decline in exports.

Gross international reserves were reported to have fallen by 1 percent to US$547 million by the end of November – equal to 3.3 months’ worth of imports.

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US Islamic scholar Yasir Qadhi to visit Maldives

US Islamic scholar Yasir Qadhi has annnounced he will be visiting the Maldives, with the Islamic ministry confirming that he will be both lecturing and delivering the Friday sermon during March.

“I will be coming down to your beautiful islands in a few months insha Allah! I will be delivering some lectures in Male and giving the khutbah,” explained the Saudi-trained scholar via his Facebook page.

“I have heard so much about your country (and one of my good friends from the University of Madinah was from Maldives as well!),” he explained before inquiring which of the country’s islands was most suitable for Muslims.

Qadhi – currently teaching in Memphis, Tennessee – has been described by the New York Times as “one of the most influential conservative clerics in American Islam”.

Recent months have also seen Canadian scholar Dr Bilal Phillips and Turkish author Harun Yahya travel to the Indian Ocean archipelago to deliver religious lectures.

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