ATM Maldives Media Meet: Tourism Minister Ibrahim Faisal
Tourism Minister Ibrahim Faisal has said that the Maldives is looking to set an example in the expansion of tourism.
Speaking at the ‘Maldives Media Meet’ organised by MMPRC at the ATM 2024 held at the World Trade Center in Dubai, Minister Faisal said that the world today looks at the self-style brand of tourism that Maldives have, which was born 50 years ago as an example.
Minister Faisal emphasised that the government is working closely with the private sector to ensure that the country continues to serve at the highest level to maintain the quality of tourism in the country. As proof of this, the minister cited the awards received by the country in four categories, including the leading destination of the Indian Ocean.
Noting that the tourism industry is changing day by day, the Minister brought attention to the fact that the Maldives has proved very well that it can move forward with such changes. The minister said that Maldives tourism has blossomed more after being through the covid 19 pandemic, and it’s status is better than it was before.
Minister Faisal underlined that “The number of tourist arrivals to the Maldives, which we expect to increase by 6.5% this year, and that this is an important step towards achieving the goal of attracting 2 million tourists a year and increasing tourism revenue to USD 6 billion. Minister Faisal drawed special attention to the fact that the reason for this amount of growth is the hard work of the industry leaders and the hardworking employees, in addition to the tourism markets and tourists that are loyal to the Maldives.
Furthermore, the Minister punctuated the efforts being made to further expand tourism in the Maldives. Minister said the government has planned very ambitious plans to expand the transportation system in order to make it easier for tourists coming to the Maldives and to take the airport experience as well as possible.
Minister Faisal placed emphasis on the high expectations about the opening of the new passenger terminal at Velana International Airport in the last quarter of this year.
The Minister also emphasised that with the completion of the project, the number of passengers serving from the main airport will increase to seven million. With the mega project to develop the main airport recently inaugurated by President Dr.Mohamed Muizzu. Besides, the government is also planning to build 15 more domestic airports in the next five years.
The minister concluded his speech by saying that the future of tourism in the country is very bright. However, this can only be confirmed by finding innovative ways and working together.
