The Maldives has initiated a new tourism policy aimed at increasing contact between visitors and inhabitants of the archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
The country’s tourism minister Ahmed Ali Sawad said the Maldives aims to do away with the “parallel world” where resort islands are kept separate from those inhabited by Maldivians.
“We’re pleased that guests seek the seclusion of a resort island,” Mr Sawad said. “But we also want to invite tourists to visit our communities.”
He added that the first step would be a ferry network linking the some 300 inhabited islands. This would enable tourists to “island-hop” and boost exchanges among the islanders themselves.
“Up to now in the Maldives, we’ve built for tourism first and benefited ourselves second. Now, it’s going to be the other way around,” Mr Sawad said.
He noted that the creation of luxury resorts in the Maldives have become the norm, whereas mid-priced hotels “have almost disappeared completely over the years”.
As a chain of islands, the Maldives will disappear if the sea rises by 2m. Last month, the country pledged it would go carbon neutral within 10 years as a way to highlight the impact of climate change. DPA
From TODAY, Traveller
Thursday, 02-April-2009
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