Tuesday, February 20, 2018
The island nation has been involved in new political chaos after the Supreme Court on February 1 called the urgent release of all the imprisoned political leaders including Mohamed Nasheed, the self-exiled former president of Maldives.
President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom had announced a 15 day state of emergency after his last ditch effort to induce the top court to cancel the regulation proved unsuccessful as the apex court rejected the government’s ‘legal and judicial’ concerns over the order.
Numerous countries worldwide comprising India, US, UK and China have issued differing degrees of travel advisories for their citizens after the disorder in the destination.
General Managers of the island resorts in the Maldives informed AVAS that the state of emergency actually created irrecoverable losses to the said sector
The general managers who denied to be named have shown serious anxiety related to the quick drop in terms of occupancy rates ever since the state of emergency was declared.
“We’ve really suffered. We began with 90 percent occupancy this year. But it has dropped to 70 percent. At the present rate of cancellations, it will be a huge loss for us,” one general manager bemoaned.
Gaisar Naseem, the Villa Hotels and Resorts’ general manager which functions as many as five resorts in the Maldives also expressed same concerns, cautioning that the circumstances could wipe out the country’s tourism industry.
“The whole industry needs to do something about this. This is our livelihood. We’re not politicians. But the whole world knows what’s happening in the Maldives. We need to sort these things out if we expect tourists to come here,” Gaisar said.
Tags: Maldives tourism
