Wednesday, January 6, 2021
Vacation-deprived wealthy Indians flocked the shores ofMaldives— one of the few countries open to international tourists during the Covid pandemic — more than any other nationalities last year. The Indian high commission in Maldives Monday tweeted that India was the “top source market for Maldives tourism in 2020 (with) 62,905tourist arrivals(accounting for) 11.3 per cent of (total) market share.”
Five Indian cities have flights to Male with five airlines operating there under the air bubble formed between the two countries
Maldives had allowed international tourists from July 15, 2020, with free visa-on-arrival. The archipelago does not have mandatory quarantine or testing onarrivalfor foreign tourists.
“All tourists are required to submit an online health declaration form within 24 hours prior to departure. All tourists are required to hold a negative PCR test for Covid-19 conducted 96 hours prior the scheduled time of departure from the first port of embarkation enroute to Maldives,” says the website of Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC), the national tourism office of the Maldives.
“Based on the arrival figures of 2019, India is ranked in the second position of the highest performing markets to the Maldives. It is one of the key focused markets after the reopening of borders on 15th July 2020,” the MMPRC website says.
“All tourists are granted a 30-day free visa upon arrival. Quarantine upon arrival is not required. However, if the passenger has a fever, cough or shortness of breath on board the flight or upon arrival, it should be informed to the local health protection agency. All tourists must undergo thermal screening at the arrival terminal (and) wear masks,” it adds.
Tags: maldives
