Vision
The Ministry of Tourism envisions to become a benchmark for sustainable tourism development – a nation with an economically profitable tourism industry in harmony with its natural environment, cultural resources, and the values of its people.
Mission
Improve the quality of life of the Maldivian people by optimizing and balancing the economic, environmental, and socio-cultural benefits of tourism, with equitable distribution of these benefits to the society by increasing the representation of Maldivians employed in the sector while minimizing the possible negative impacts of tourism and maintaining the position of Maldives in world Markets.
Roles / Functions
To develop tourism at a national level, and carry out long-term planning, development, monitoring, and regulatory functions to ensure a sustainable tourism industry for the benefit of the people of the Maldives.
Maldives Tourism Master Plan
Maldives launches a Tourism Master Plan every 5 years. In 2019, the 5th Tourism Master Plan for the 2020-2025 period was generated. From 1983, the Ministry of Tourism had published 4 Tourism Master Plans for every 5-year period. Due to impacts of COVID-19, the fifth Tourism Master Plan has not been published on the Internet, but main focuses of the Tourism Plan have been shared with the public. Some major areas include sustainable tourism, tourism careers for local residents – especially women, culture and arts, economic contribution, and safety of visitors.
1. Environmentally Sustainable Tourism
The Maldives continues to focus on sustainable development and sets it as the top-priority in every Tourism Master Plan. This is one of the long-term goals in tourism development that Maldives has been working on since the beginning. It also aims to deliver the picture of “the most delicate and unique destination on the planet” to the world. Tourism Maldives highlights that coral reefs are not only the fundamental elements of tourism and national economy but also play a key part in protecting the islands as global climate changes. Several regulations and policies have already been in place to protect not only the marine environment but also other designated nature reserves. The Maldives will continue to strengthen legal framework to ensure tourism activities have minimal impacts on the natural resources of the country such as protecting sea turtles, reducing non-biodegradable waste and cleaning up beaches, promoting reusable energy…
2. Culture and Sports Tourism
Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation announces a stronger emphasis on showcasing and promoting unique and rich culture in Maldives. In addition, the large-scale beach resorts in Maldives that are famous for honeymoon and private vacations are now on the marketing list for outdoor sport tourism activities such as volleyball, badminton and surfing. A significant focus has been put on displaying authentic local life through cuisine, daily activities, traditional events, custom handicrafts and heritage sites. Moreover, tourism businesses in Maldives are expected to actively attend trade shows, conferences and events to attract targeted groups that are interested in culture and sports.
3. Hospitality loyalty program
According to CNN Travel, Maldives proposes to be the first country in the world that offers its own tourist loyalty program. As a luxury destination, Maldives encourages potential visitors to travel to Maldives, return and collect points and get rewarded for their special occasions. This program is expected to launch in early 2021, however it may look different due to impacts of COVID-19. Experts believe that the hospitality loyalty program will have positive long-term potentials for tourism Maldives.
Maldives Covid-19 Strategy
During the time of border closure, as other destinations, tourism organizations in Maldives continued to put out stay safe messages and inspire prospective travels by appealing photos and virtual tour while kept working on planning tourism activities post pandemic.
Thoyyib Mohamed, Director at the Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation shared that they worked with Health Protection Agency following WHO standards to come up with safety procedures to track visitors’ travel history, health condition, and any contacts with COVID-19 patients. All tourists will also be tested if having symptoms and must follow guidelines from the authorities.
The natural structure of resorts in Maldives allows most resorts to be isolated from others. The Ministry of Tourism is prepared for the worst situation if outbreak happens, it will not affect other islands thanks to the distance between islands.
In June 2020, the Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation launched “The Sun Will Shine Again” campaign on Facebook to start media promotion activities prior to reopening in July 2020. They also hosted a four-hour live programme to provide an opportunity for stakeholders and tourism partners in all resorts to share ideas and get training in order to welcome tourists back safely.
Mohamed (2020) also emphasized the concept of sustainable tourism of Maldives. He highlighted the importance of financial sustainability that allowed Maldives to minimize the impacts on local businesses and jobs. The benefit tourism contributed to national economy should be allocated to help Maldivians get through this difficult time.
As mentioned by the Ministry of Tourism in the introduction, Maldives relies heavily on international visits. During COVID-19, while many destinations focus on boosting domestic travels, this is not the case for Maldivians. To quickly recover from the extreme impacts of COVID-19, Tourism Maldives launched the campaign Rediscover Maldives…The Sunny Side of Life to encourage visitors to their beautiful islands.
Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) hosted a virtual press conference on July 15, 2020 with attendance of media from 21 nations including main international markets of Maldives such as China, India, Australia, UK,… The campaign desires to bring tourists back to the islands since border closure in March 2020 while ensuring safety for both visitors and local residents. Maldives stated to adapt and ready to welcome travellers back by a variety of activities planned for the best experiences on the islands during the new normal (Visit Maldives, 2020).
References
About Tourism Ministry. (n.d). Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Maldives. Retrieved from https://www.tourism.gov.mv/en/ministry/about
Maldives puts niche markets at centre of 2020 tourism strategy. (2019). Breaking Travel News. Retrieved from https://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/maldives-unveils-2020-tourism-strategy/
Marcus, L. (2020). Maldives set to become world’s first country to offer a traveler loyalty program. CNN Travel. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/maldives-travel-loyalty-program-intl-hnk/index.html
Restarting tourism in the Maldives. (2020). City/Nation/Place. Retrieved from https://www.citynationplace.com/restarting-tourism-in-the-maldives
Visit Maldives. (2020). Maldives resumes tourism with the launch of “Rediscover Maldives…The sunny side of life”. Visit Maldives. Retrieved from https://visitmaldives.com/en/news/maldives-resumes-tourism-with-the-launch-of-rediscover-maldivesthe-sunny-side-of-life