Famously known for its white sandy beaches and azure waters, Maldives is the place to be if you’re looking for that exclusive holiday experience. Catering to all kinds of travellers, the destination has a lot to offer in terms of travel experiences, especially for Muslim travellers. Although the Maldives is a 100% Muslim country, the country does not record significant inbound travel from Muslim destinations or the Middle East. In 2019, Maldives recorded a little over 40,000 tourists from the region while direct flights accounted for 650,000 arrivals.

There is a huge avenue for this significant market as the Maldives meets all the requirements of Muslim travelers. Whether it be maximum privacy, halal food or even private beaches, you can get these at the resorts. If you’re looking for a relaxing budget stay, check out the boutique hotels in the local islands. Here, you can experience both the island lifestyle and have a travel experience of a lifetime.

Maldives Halal Travel is a platform that intends to act as a catalyst to bridge the gap between global halal travellers and Maldives hoteliers to attract global Muslim travellers, especially from the Middle Easterners. A baby project of Dr Hussain Sunny Umar, Maldives Halal Travel came into inception following his PhD thesis in Halal Tourism in 2013.

In partnership with the Maldives promotion board, MMPRC and the Ministry of Tourism, Maldives Halal Travel will showcase the most recent offers, packages, and customized services exclusively for the Muslim-friendly global halal travellers. Under this, a special rating service – Muslim-friendly travel rating will be conducted on properties to identify the facilities that cater to the Muslim travellers.

If you consider staying at a resort, rest assured that properties accommodate almost all the needs of the travellers. From the availability of halal food, halal toiletries, extreme privacy, most resorts have Muslim/Arabic speaking staff to assist the Muslim travellers. As resorts are constructed under the “one island one resort” concept, accessibility to the islands is only for the staff members and guests visiting under reservations. Therefore, there is no criminal activities in resorts and properties offer safe-keeping facilities for guests to ensure maximum security.

Although many aspects in resorts are halal, the properties do sell alcohol, serve pork and have bikini beaches and such. Both alcohol and pork are handled under strict measures by staff in a confined manner, in other words; it is segregated. Some resorts have different kitchens for halal and non-halal. Under the Muslim-friendly Travel Rating, the Maldives Halal Travel team will ensure if the services fit the halal criteria for Muslim travellers.

Interested parties are requested to visit www.maldiveshalaltravel.com or reach out to [email protected] for more information.