MATI – Page 3 – Minivan News

“Taxation system long overdue,” says MATI

The Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) has declared its support for the government’s economic reform programme and the introduction of direct taxation.

In a press statement yesterday, the association of industry leaders noted that the absence of a taxation system in the country “similar to tax regimes successfully implemented in other countries” was a serious impediment to development and economic growth.

“The introduction of such a taxation system to the Maldives is long overdue,” MATI said in its statement.

As the enactment of direct taxation would increase state revenue and reduce government borrowing from banks, “this association believes that banks lending to private businesses will increase and job opportunities will be created.”

“This association believes that as a result of [the economic reforms], economic growth will quicken and challenges faced by the Maldives tourism industry will be solved,” the statement reads.

MATI warned that “it is certain” that if state revenue was not increased “with immediate effect” the domestic economy would be adversely affected.

Consultations

The statement of support from MATI comes after the Tourism Ministry last week condemned “misleading statements in the media” by the organisation about the government’s proposed economic reforms.

The Tourism Ministry claimed that “MATI’s misleading statements in various media recently about the tax bills of the government’s economic reform agenda imply that the government’s efforts were undertaken without consulting officials from the tourism industry.”

The Ministry said it had “consulted a number of parties active in the tourism sector and sought advice for shaping the tax bills so that it would not be a disproportionate burden on the industry.”

“After these consultations, the Ministry is assured that businesses in the tourism industry support the reform agenda. Likewise, those in the front ranks of the tourism industry as well as MATI support it. Therefore, [the ministry] regrets an organisation like MATI making statements that are contrary to the advice and suggestions of senior industry leaders.”

President Mohamed Nasheed has meanwhile welcomed MATI’s support for the government’s fiscal and economic reform plans.

“The President believes that the fact that MATI agreed to fully support the government in its economic reform programmes, after deliberations between MATI and the government, is a sign that they support the measures taken by the government to improve the state of the Maldivian economy and increase the state’s income,” reads a statement from the President’s Office today.

Recommendations

Following consultations with the government, MATI proposed a series of recommendations on the new taxes.

In its comments on the proposed legislation – obtained by Minivan News – MATI stressed the need to educate the public and ease in the taxes gradually.

“There is a need to study the effects of the combined burden of having to pay all these taxes on those affected,” the association noted.

On the introduction of a five percent General Goods and Services Tax, despite the successful introduction of a Tourism Goods and Services Tax (T-GST) in January this year, MATI noted that “T-GST was collected from a highly regulated sector of the economy. The same cannot be said of the other sectors of the economy or of the general public who would end up paying this tax.”

MATI argued that the GST could stoke inflationary pressures, urging “careful study of the effects of GST on the economy.”

“For the tourism industry – Costs of local purchases will go up by the GST amount or more. Direct imports will increase in order to avoid GST. Resorts will have to pay both T-GST & GST,” MATI noted. “Confusion will arise due to different rates being applied. In view of this it is suggested that eventually the two taxes should merge into one GST.”

The organisation also recommended delaying the introduction of a private income tax (PIT) to January 2013 to establish a regulatory framework and raise public awareness.

The organisation contended that the progressive income tax rates – from 3 percent to 15 percent for incomes above Rf30,000 (US$1,900) – were “especially targeted at the very rich.”

“Under the proposal, people earning one million rupees per year will pay about 2.8% of their income as PIT, whereas a person earning MRF10 Million per year will pay about 13.25% of the income as PIT,” it noted.

Moreover, MATI urged that plans to raise the current 3.5 percent T-GST to 6 percent in January 2012 and 10 percent in January 2013 be scrapped in favour of retaining the current rate until a recommended hike to 7 percent in January 2013.

“Tourism industry is already paying a lot to the Government and therefore, we urge the Government to give the industry a breathing space to help the industry revive from low occupancy, heavy operating costs and the economic chaos caused by recent financial crisis in Europe,” MATI said, cautioning against high taxes leading to the Maldives becoming “an even more expensive destination.”

MATI further noted that the taxes were “especially heavy on the tourism industry and will result in a very negative impact on the industry.”

“Tourism will cease to be an attractive industry to invest in. As a result, new investments will be slowed. Proposals to banks to borrow will not look that attractive any more. Bank lending to this sector will become more and more selective. This is not what we like to see in this country,” MATI stated. “Finally, should we continue to ‘milk the cow dry’? Certainly not is the answer.”

“Agreeable”

President Mohamed Nasheed responded to MATI’s recommendations in a letter yesterday, expressing the government’s gratitude for the comments.

“The purpose of these reforms are to set in place the foundation needed to build a strong and modern economy befitting the Maldives’ status as a middle-income country, and to enable the state to provide the necessary services that the people of this country expects,” the letter reads. “In addition to the tax reforms that will allow for a sustainable revenue base, the government’s programme include important reforms such as facilitating the ease of doing business and strengthening property rights.”

On the recommendations by MATI, the President’s letter noted that “the government is agreeable to reduce the proposed rate of tourist sector GST to become effective from January 2013 to 8 percent from the current proposed rate of 10 percent.”

The government was also “agreeable” to MATI’s proposals on capital allowance, pension payments and deducting interest payments from banks and other financial institutions in full, the President’s letter states.

On the impact of the taxes on the economy, the letter notes that “studies have shown that proposed tax rates are lower than those in other island economies and thus will not have an overbearing effect.”

Addressing skepticism of balancing the state budget with the new revenue sources, President Nasheed said that “the revenue impact on the proposed taxes will bring income up to a level where necessary expenditures can be met and lead to a balanced budget in 2015.”

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Tourism Ministry condemns “misleading statements” from MATI over economic reform

The Tourism Ministry has condemned the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) for “making statements to media outlets in a way that misleads the public about the government’s economic agenda”.

In a statement, the Ministry claimed that “MATI’s misleading statements in various media recently about the tax bills of the government’s economic reform agenda imply that the government’s efforts were undertaken without consulting officials from the tourism industry.”

Secretary General of MATI ‘Sim’ Mohamed Ibrabim was not responding at time of press.

The government has presented a raft of economic reform bills to parliament detailing several new taxes, including a business profit tax, general GST and income tax of those earning over Rf 30,000 (US$2000) a month. The government is also looking to increase its previously-passed tourism goods and services tax (TGST) of 3.5 percent to 6 percent, in exchange for lowering import duties, claiming that this will benefit businesses by allowing them to pay tax at the point of sale.

Secretary General of the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO), Mohamed Maleeh Jamal, told Minivan News that his organisation had been consulted by the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) prior to the passage of the TGST, and was pleased to see some clauses implemented reflecting the input.

While no government body had sought to meet MATATO regarding the latest batch of bills, Jamal said parliament had forwarded them to MATATO for comment and input.

The Maldives pledged to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) earlier this year that it would pursue a package of policy reforms in exchange for a a three year economic programme to stabilise and strengthen the Maldives’ economy.

Under the new IMF program the Maldives has committed to:

Raise import duties on pork, tobacco, alcohol and plastic products by August 2011 (requires Majlis approval);
Introduce a general goods and services tax (GST) of 5 percent applicable to all sectors other than tourism, electricity, health and water (requires Majlis approval);
Raise the Tourism Goods and Services Tax (TGST) from 3.5 percent to 6 percent from January 2012, and to 10 percent in January 2013 (requires Majlis approval);
Pass an income tax bill in the Majlis by no later than January 2012;
Ensure existing bed tax of US$8 dollars a night remains until end of 2013;
Reduce import duties on certain products from January 2011;
Freeze public sector wages and allowances until end of 2012;
Lower capital spending by 5 percent

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Resort giant rejects dismissed local workers’ allegations of foreigner bias

Hospitality giant Conrad Hotels and Resorts has rejected accusations concerning its treatment of a group of Maldivian workers made redundant earlier this month at its Rangali Island Resort, claiming the site adheres to both company and Maldivian labour laws when dealing with staff.

Responding to accusations made by a group of 29 staff that resort management recently decided to make redundant over concerns about profitability during the low season, Conrad claimed all its staff were treated “fairly” regardless of their ethnicity.

The group of staff dismissed this month by the company have alleged that whilst working at the Conrad Rangali Island Resort, they witnessed multiple examples of Maldivian workers being discriminated against in favour of expatriate workers of other nationalities. The group claimed that some staff were additionally made to flout expiry dates and other quality standards by management figures.

Some of the allegations reflect wider concerns about the treatment of Maldivian staff across the country’s resort industry, says the Tourism Employees Association of Maldives (TEAM), which it claims varies significantly in comparison to other countries. The group claimed that these discrepancies may, in some cases, verge on being “racial abuse”.

Not singling out a particular resort for the practices, TEAM told Minivan News that it believed there were widespread discrepancies in the treatment of Maldivian resort staff in areas such as payment compared to resort workers of other nationalities.

“There are bigger concerns regarding some of these issues – particularly we see there is some salary discrepancy between Maldivian staff and other employees,” claimed TEAM President Ahmed Shihaam. “Right now however, we are focusing on more prominent concerns such as the possible introduction of a national minimum wage.”

The group of workers dismissed from Conrad this month claimed that they believed they had been removed from their positions for demanding action on issues involving site management and staff. The workers were dismissed with redundancy packages, according to Conrad.

According to the group, management figures had threatened to fire members of staff for their role in trying to raise the issues, which they claimed were linked to strikes taking place at the resort over several days in March of this year.

“There is a lot of discrimination going on in the island, foreigners are more favoured than Maldivians, they earn more, have luxurious rooms to sleep and everything is so perfect for them. We sleep 10-15 men in a room, while foreigners sleep maximum three in a room,” a dismissed former worker at the Conrad resort told Minivan News. ‘’It is very regrettable that we are being mistreated and enslaved in our own country.”

The spokesperson for the group claimed that none of the staff who were given redundancy by the company had deserved to be removed from their posts; having tried to ensure that the “high standards” expected of the resort were being met.

One member of the dismissed group who worked in the resort’s house keeping department alleged that human resources officials at the site turned a blind eye when some staff failed to properly wash towels beyond soaking them in water, drying them off and throwing them onto an office floor.

‘’One day when I was at the house keeping office I was told to wipe out the expiry date of all the mouth wash bottles that has expired,’’ the person claimed. ‘’I told the house keeper that he can’t do that, but I was forced to do it if I wanted to work there.’’

Amongst a list of accusations, the dismissed staff claimed that some senior management figures had abused their roles by arranging to have the resort’s high-profile underwater restaurant dismiss confirmed bookings so as to accommodate a private dinner for a senior resort employee.

The spokesperson for the group claimed that the company was aware of the restaurant closure, as well as a number of policies it claimed breached rules on safety and employment regulation.

‘’[Local staff] have to test wine, which it violates the Tourism Act. It is also not allowed to have a Maldivian as a barmen, but currently there is a Maldivian barmen at the island,’’ he alleged.

The group’s spokesperson alleged that he and his colleagues had also been asked to open a number of expired yoghurt containers in the main restaurant’s kitchen and to pour them all in to a big bowel to serve for breakfast that morning.

‘’We did it, it was not something related to us or something that would harm us, but we complained to the management and there was no action taken against it,’’ he said.

Resort response

Addressing the accusations made by its former staff, Conrad Hotels said it preferred not to enter into a “public discussion” concerning the claims. Conrad said it offered several official channels within its organisation that allowed staff to address particular concerns over adherence to company rules and policy during their employment.

The company added that as an international hotel chain, it worked to ensure its employment policies were in line both with Maldivian labour laws and global company standards in order to protect staff at Rangali Island. The resort employed almost three Maldivian workers to each expatriate member of staff, the resort noted.

“The hotel follows employment policies that are consistent with the country’s labour laws and the company’s own standard practices. This includes, but is not limited to fair remuneration, respectful treatment of our team members, training and development opportunities, diversity recognition and fair treatment for all,” stated the company. “It is important to note that as of June 2011, 74 percent of the resort’s team members are Maldivian.”

Conrad also reiterated its claim that the decision to release 29 staff was made based for business reasons – with all members receiving redundancy packages to “help them through the transition.”

Without commenting specifically on the policy of an individual resort, ‘Sim’ Mohamed Ibrahim, the Secretary General of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) said the group had not been made aware or been involved in dealing with concerns about discrepancies in the conditions of Maldivian resort workers, as compared to other nationalities.

However, Sim said he believed that the government would not allow Maldivian staff to be treated unfairly and in a disproportionate manner to other nationalities of workers under the conditions of its Employment Act.

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MATI not taking sides on proposed resort lease amendments

Proposed amendments to the Tourism Act relating to lease extensions for Maldivian resorts are said to have divided opinion among industry insiders, according to the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI).

MATI Secretary General ‘Sim’ Mohamed Ibrahim told Minivan News that proposals presented to the Majlis yesterday by MP Abdu Raheem Abdulla, if passed, would allow 50 year lease extension payments to be made gradually on an annual basis. Sim claimed that the decision to support or oppose the amendment had proven difficult for the association, with different resort owners welcoming and opposing the bill.

“MATI cannot take sides on this issue. While we have some people who can pay the money straight away, we know of others [resort owners], who would prefer the amendments,” he said.

According to newspaper Haveeru, Abdulla’s proposed amendment would allow contractors requesting an extension of their existing lease to pay a US$100,000 fee to pay instalments every year over the life of the contract.

Abdulla was reported to have forwarded the amendment over fears that news jobs would not be created in the country if the government received upfront payments from extension agreements.

Sim said that he believed that at present, the government preferred the system currently in use where lease extensions were paid within an 18-month period of a contract being signed by a resort.

A Tourism Ministry spokesperson confirmed that the Government’s official view was that it supported existing tourism laws that supported an upfront fee payment made over a shorter time-frame.

The spokesperson conceded that he had not fully read the proposals forwarded by Abdulla at present and was unable to elaborate on further on the exact changes they may entail for the industry.

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MATI claims tourism on track to maintain growth in 2011, despite Male’ protests

The Secretary General of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) claims the country’s tourism industry remains on track to maintain growth despite recent widely publicised clashes between police and protesters in Male’ during May.

The total number of tourist arrivals to the country between January to April 2011 amounted to 327,563 people, up 16.9 percent over the same period last year, according to official statistics provided by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture. Of this demand, Europe continued to dominate visitor market share during the period.

MATI’s ‘Sim’ Mohamed Ibrahim told Minivan News that, as with for a number of destinations across South Asia, the Maldivian tourism sector had begun to “recover” from the impacts of global financial uncertainty in recent years. Sim said he believed the industry, through the use of strategies such as discounting during the off-season, appeared well placed to continue to profit from growing tourist interest, even with perceived challenges facing the industry relating to taxation and recent protests between police and members of the public.

Sim’s comments were made as the government pledged to increase a 3.5 percent Tourism Goods and Services Tax introduced on January 1 to five percent as part of economic reforms that led to a week of protests and violent clashes in Male’ during the beginning of this month.

These protests, which were said to have been instigated as a “youth movement” despite the involvement of several opposition politicians, saw thousands of Maldivians campaigning on the streets leading to occasional violent clashes that drew international coverage, raising some concerns over tourism safety.

Sim claimed that despite these protest concerns – which the government alleged reflected an attempt by some opposition politicians to “mislead” foreign media over their scale – the demonstrations occurring in Male’ and some islands were completely isolated from the country’s island-based resorts. He added that the demonstrations would not impact tourism despite some nations issuing travel warnings for the Maldives.

Despite these potential concerns shown by some tourism markets, Sim said that he did not expect a huge negative impact on tourism arrival figures for May 2011 when released by authorities. The MATI Secretary General added that he was optimistic over the impact of the government’s plans to introduce and extend direct taxation on all travel industry services and goods.

“There was some concern over the [tourism goods and services charge], the government appears to be going in the right direction by pledging to do away with duties such as bed charges by focusing on direct taxes,” he said. “On the whole we believe the tax will be beneficial to the country and the industry.”

From MATI’s perspective, Sim said that the organisation believed that instead of various duties and charges currently imposed by the government, the industry would be better served by replacing these charges with one or two “solid” direct taxes like the existing goods and service charges – a policy he claimed the government were already pursuing.

“We believe this would present a healthier picture for finance [in the industry],” he said.

When addressing potential future growth for visitor numbers amidst the Maldives’ peak tourism season drawing to an end in April, Sim said that “quite a lot” of discounting has been occurring within the industry to try and bolster arrivals. However, the tourism association secretary general said that the decision to discount was ultimately profitable for the industry.

“We must not lose sight that the Maldives is a good value for money destination. For hoteliers, the most important thing is to keep the [visitor] figures going. There is quite a lot of discounting occurring to try and ensure more confidence to the market,” he said. “We are seeing more Chinese coming and although they may not be as high yield – in terms of spending power – than visitors from markets like Russia, they are arriving in good numbers.”

According to the latest Tourism Ministry figures, during the first four months of the year, European tourists including travellers from destinations like Russia accounted for 67.8 percent of the total market share of visitors compared to the same time last year up by 10.6 percent over the same time in 2010.

Asia and the Pacific represented 28.1 percent of the total tourist market with China alone accounting for 15.3 percent of all tourism arrivals over the period. Over the same time in 2010, visitors from the region increased by 35.1 percent to 92,132 people.

Among other regions, the Americas were found to represent 2.4 percent of the tourism market between January to April 2011, the Middle East accounted for 1.1 percent of arrivals and Africa represented 0.6 percent of the total tourism market.

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New7Wonders “infringing sovereign rights of Maldives” by keeping country in competition, claims MMPRC

The Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation (MMPRC) has issued a statement reaffirming the Maldivian government’s decision to withdraw from the New7Wonders competition.

The statement follows claims by the Geneva-based foundation’s head of communications, Eamonn Fitzgerald, that the Maldives was still in the competition “because the authority to withdraw a participant from the campaign is a decision for New7Wonders alone, not for any government agency.”

The government withdrew from the competition on May 18, after claiming that New7Wonders’ commercial entity, New Open World Corporation (NOWC), had solicited hundreds of thousands of dollars for the country “to compete meaningfully”.

“We no longer feel that continued participation is in the economic interests of the Maldives,” said State Minister for Tourism Thoyyib Mohamed, at the time.

The MMPRC today said that a second statement was necessary “to halt any further misrepresentation by the NOWC regarding the involvement of the Maldives in their competition.”

“After the many attempts by the MMPRC to negotiate and explain our financial situation requesting a reduction of the price to meaningfully compete and stay in the competition, we are again perplexed to learn that the NOWC are considering taking a smaller sum of money from a third party in order to keep the Maldives in the competition,” the MMPRC stated.

Secretary General Maleeh Jamal of the Maldives Association of Travel and Tourism Operators (MATATO) said yesterday that the association had been in contact with New7Wonders and was considering working on the event in the government’s stead, claiming that the competition promised “enormous return on investment”, and that “US$500,000 for such an award would be quickly recovered.”

The MMPRC today stated that “the democratically elected Government of the Maldives is the only legitimate authority to act in the name of the Maldives and its people”, as “NOWC originally sought acceptance and involvement of the Maldives in the competition with a government signature and payment.

“The Cabinet (not the MMPRC) has made the final decision to withdraw from the competition due to their findings. We feel that the continued participation of the Maldives in the NOWC competition is a matter entirely up to the democratically elected government of the country. Any infringement of this sovereign right, including continued disregard for our position on the matter, will leave us with no alternative but to seek legal recourse.”

In a recent opinion column for Minivan News, Fitzgerald argued that the MMPRC’s “unfounded complaints regarding the campaign sponsorship options have to be seen in light [of the] extraordinarily positive numbers.”

Fitzgerald referred to two “independent studies” he claimed estimated the economic benefit to each of the seven wonders as “US$1.012 billion”, and the total benefit to previous winners as “US$5 billion”.

The MMPRC stated that it “does not agree with the business arguments as quoted in the article for Minivannews.com. To imply that you can guarantee a positive response of an advertising campaign or PR stunt that is yet to happen is wholly unethical.

“The NOWC-commissioned reports and estimates cannot guarantee and secure a positive outcome for the Maldives. There are so many variable factors as to why marketing activities are successes or failures ‐ but no two scenarios are identical and so generalisations and assumptions should not be made when spending huge sums of the country’s money.”

The MMPRC highlighted several articles in the government’s contract with NOWC, noting that “the obligation to pay is determined and decided by [the Government of the Maldives] abilities and resources and that NOWC will respect this.”

“In light of our recent economic riots and financial crisis which was broadcast to the world, we feel that NOWC have totally disregarded our situation.”

The MMPRC further claimed that “despite our emails and answer phone messages to Fitzgerald, New7Wonders have refused to respond to our communications. We have also noted that their office premises appear to be empty and their colleagues with whom we previously had regular communications are no longer available.”

Fitzgerald said New7Wonders was reviewing the MMPRC’s statement, and confirmed that “all MMPRC messages to New7Wonders have been duly received and filed by us. As New7Wonders accepted the resignation of the MMPRC on May 17, this agency is no longer New7Wonders’s counterpart in the Maldives, so we have no reason to respond to it.”

He added that New7Wonders would issue a statement regarding the continued participation of the Maldives in the campaign on Thursday May 26.

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Business as usual for Maldives travel industry despite ash disrupting flights in Europe

European flight services to and from the Maldives have not been impacted by the release of volcanic ash from Iceland into the local atmosphere with business continuing as normal today, according to staff at Male’ International Airport.

The BBC reported that some 700 flights had been cancelled across Germany today over safety concerns concerning a buildup of ash in parts of European airspace that originated from Iceland’s Grimsvotn volcano. The report added that the situation is reported to already been returning to normal.

Last April, an eruption from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano created a thick cloud of volcanic ash that grounded days of flights across Europe and Scandinavia. The ash impacted a number of the world’s leading airlines and their services to the Maldives, leaving tourists stranded in the country for days in some cases.

However, officials at Male’ International Airport said that the latest volcanic eruption occurring in Iceland this week had not at present had any severe impacts on arrival or departure schedules at the airport – claims that were shared by a number of airlines.

Speaking to Minivan News a spokesperson for British Airways, which operates direct flights from London to the Maldives, said the airline had experienced only a minor number of interruptions to its flights on certain services to Scotland and parts of northern Germany.

“At present we have not been made aware of any potentially significant impacts [from the ash] on our flight schedules,” the spokesperson added.

Darrell Soertsz, District Manager for Emirates’ operations in the Maldives, said services between Europe and the Maldives had similarly been untroubled.

“So far things have been operating normally and we certainly hope to keep things that way,” he said.

Tourism Minister Dr Mariyam Zulfa said she had not been fully informed of the exact impacts of travel disruptions, if any, to the country’s tourism industry.

Dr Zulfa added that the industry had suffered last year following difficulties with volcanic ash in European airspace. Nonetheless she said it was her belief that tourism in the country was strong enough to overcome any possible difficulties that could result from the latest eruption.

“Any possible flight disruptions will of course have an impact on tourism,” she said. “Overall [last year’s] eruptions were a major hassle for the country. However, as is always the case, resort operators and other members of the industry will work together to find solutions and these solutions will be found.”

Speaking to Minivan News last year whilst the Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruption bought European Airspace to a standstill, ‘Sim’ Mohamed Ibrahim of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) said the cancellation of flights highlighted the vulnerability of the country’s tourism industry to outside forces.

Sim said the most important thing to note from the situation was “how vulnerable and dependent we are on external influences” and how much “incidents that we can’t control” affect the industry.

He claimed that the eruptions had not been such a huge problem for resorts at the time, but noted people were not happy about the developments that left passengers stranded in the Maldives as well as all over the world. “Obviously, we are doing the best we can. The situation is very difficult to manage.”

Sim said although some resorts had taken the flight cancellations “very seriously and responsibly,” others did not do as much as they could to ensure their guests were kept as “happy and comfortable” as possible under the circumstances.

“There is very little we can do,” he said at the time. “There is no way anyone can leave or come [to the country].”

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MATATO debating whether to continue New7Wonders campaign after cabinet’s withdrawal

The Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) is considering offering to support New7Wonders to promote the Maldives in the competition, following cabinet’s decision to withdraw the country’s entry.

Announcing the decision last Wednesday May 18, State Minister for Tourism Thoyyib Mohamed said the Maldives was withdrawing from the competition “because of the unexpected demands for large sums of money from the New7Wonders organisers. We no longer feel that continued participation is in the economic interests of the Maldives.”

Sponsorship packages and funding of New7Wonders’ ‘World Tour’ event would have cost the Maldives upwards of US$500,000, tourism authorities estimated, not including the millions of dollars in licensing arrangements solicited from local airlines and telecom providers.

In an opinion column for Minivan News this week, New7Wonders’ Head of Communication Eamonn Fitzgerald emphasised that Maldives was still in the competition, “because the authority to withdraw a participant from the campaign is a decision for New7Wonders alone, not for any government agency.”

Secretary General of MATATO, Maleeh Jamal, said the association had been in contact with New7Wonders and was considering working on the event in the government’s stead.

The studies offered by New7Wonders promised an “enormous return on investment”, Jamal suggested.

“I think US$500,000 for such an award would be quickly recovered. Although the money was a concern, we had a fair chance of winning,” he said. “A lot of competing destinations, such as Australia and South Africa, are taking this competition very seriously.”

Sri Lanka had recently spent millions of dollars bidding to host the Commonwealth Games, he noted, as well as hosting a film festival.

“I think a lot of these awards are, as a matter of fact, marketing tools. Not many people are going to go into detail as to whether the competition is democratic. What is important is how it can benefit the destination.”

Asked whether he predicted that MATATO would be able to negotiate a discount from New7Wonders following the government’s withdrawal, Jamal said the association had not yet discussed financial matters with the organisation.

“Some of our members have indicated that they would be willing to contribute financially and offer other support. The executive will meet and discuss it this week and decide whether to continue or discontinue,” he said.

Meanwhile Secretary General of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI), Mohamed ‘Sim’ Ibrahim, said he had “no idea about New7Wonders, beyond that it has been going on for some time.”

“It sounds like a gimmick. I understood there was a lot of money involved,” he said.

“MATI will not support it financially. Like any other business people will have to judge if its worth it. We were never consulted on the matter and were never party to this – we like to keep away from things we don’t know about.“

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Resorts must now invest after not doing enough for security, says MATI

Tourism insiders say that the industry has not done enough to provide security at the country’s resorts as authorities, while security officials and businesses continue to work on outlining new protective measures for properties across the country.

As security officials continue to await the outcomes from consultations by a steering group formed following a security seminar and workshop held last week to outline methods to reduce possible threats facing the country’s resorts, some property owners and managers appear divided over the severity of the challenges faced.

Speaking to Minivan News, ‘Sim’ Mohamed Ibrahim from the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) said that despite ongoing attempts to outline a nationwide resort security initiative since 2008, no such policy had as yet been put in place.

Following last week’s security seminars, Sim said he was confident that by working with the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF), the police, and the coastguard, progress was now being made in outlining long-term security strategies for tourism. He conceded though that the industry would need to bare more of the financial brunt to protect its interests in the future.

“Resorts do need more investment in regards to security, we haven’t done enough so far,” said the MATI head.

Sim said that last week’s seminar reflected growing industry concerns of late raised by the active Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture as well as industry bodies over protecting the country’s lucrative resort islands from possible theft and attack.

The country has this year alone faced two isolated, yet high-profile incidences of intrusion at properties such as Kihaadhuffaru resort and Baros Island Resort and Spa highlighting for some the magnitude of the threats facing the country.

Sim claimed that these concerns were not an “isolated” issue for tourist properties alone, but rather a symptom of rising levels of crime on inhabited islands such as the Maldivian capital of Male’ that had spilled onto resorts.

“This is not to say that the government is working on this issue [of crime], but really they need better laws in the country for offenders,” he claimed.

To try and combat fears over criminals targeting resorts, the MATI Secretary-General said he believed that improved networking between different resorts and ease of communication was a vital part of limiting potential attacks in the future. He added that the closer cooperation between tourism officials and the police and armed forces in the country was also seen as another key aim.

However, Sim claimed that rather than bringing wide-ranging reforms to tourist and resort security, the country would be better prioritising commitments in areas where it was able to ensure effective changes could be put in place.

He added that a committee containing government and tourism industry figures was now working to address what sort of commitments should be prioritised on the back of last week’s security seminar.

“The best thing to come from these talks is that we are now attempting to work together [with the government and security forces]. We know we are not alone as an industry,” he said. “In the past, we have tended not to mix the leisure side of holidays with security, but this is something that we need to do.”

Security advisor

Speaking today to Minivan News, National Security Advisor Ameen Faisal said that he still haven’t received feedback from the steering committee of government and industry figures regarding outlining new proposals for resort security.

While Faisal added that he was not sure of the exact nature that potential changes could mean for how defence forces worked with the tourism industry, he was convinced it would not lead to a rise in their presence on resort islands.

“Personally, I don’t think operational changes will be seen in the manner that police and the MNDF operate regarding tourism,” he said. “There will probably be some training programmes conducted by police for resort security, but I don’t think we will see a physical presence by defence forces at these resorts.”

In addressing any perceived threats posed by Maldivian gang crime reaching the isolated environs of the country’s tourist properties, not all resort groups appeared to have share MATI’s beliefs that security problems were generated solely by offshore criminals.

One general manager for a leading multinational brand of resorts in the country said under anonymity that he believed the resort robberies were more likely to have resulted from serving or former employees with knowledge of the properties than from random attacks by gangs or opportunistic thieves.

In taking this view, the general manager said that he believed it was often imperative to try and effectively manage staff and their grievances that could often occur from very small and often easily rectified measures.

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