‘Please be a part of Maldives’ tourism’: Why island nation is urging Indian travellers to return

“Please be a part of Maldives’ tourism. Our economy depends on tourism,” appealed Maldivian tourism minister Ibrahim Faisal amid the ongoing India-Maldives spat.

The request came after Indian tourists shunned the island nation after Maldivian officials made derogatory remarks about India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media.

How badly was Maldivian tourism hurt by Indians? We explore more.

Plea to return

Ibrahim Faisal, Maldives’ tourism minister, on Monday (6 May), in a PTI news interview said: “We have a history. Our newly elected government also wants to work together (with India). We always promote peace and a friendly environment. Our people and the government will give a warm welcome to Indian arrivals. As the tourism minister, I want to tell Indians to please be a part of Maldives’ tourism. Our economy depends on tourism.”

The plea comes after Indians tourists visiting the archipelago began dwindling following the Indo-Maldives spat, which began early in January when three leaders belonging to President Mohamed Muizzu’s government made offensive remarks about India as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Indians shun the Maldives

Maldivian government data has revealed that the number of Indian tourists has dipped in the first four months of this year. The island nation welcomed a total of 43,991 tourists from India as of 4 May. Moreover, between January and April, Maldives received 42,638 Indians. Compare this to last year, Maldives recorded 73,785 tourist arrivals from India.

Statistics show a total of 12,792 Indians visited the island nation in January 2024. In February, a total of 11,522 Indian tourists visited the Maldives, as compared to a total of 19,497 the same month last year. In March this year, only 8,322 Indians visited the nation, as compared to a total of 18,099 during the same month in 2023.

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Indian tourists are among the highest foreign visitors to the Maldives. In 2023, of the total 17 lakh tourists who visited the island nation, more than 2,09,198 visitors were Indians, followed by Russians — 2,09,146 — and China with 1,87,118 tourists.

In 2022, the number of Indian visitors was more than 2.4 lakh while in the previous year, 2021, the number of Indians flying to the island nation was over 2.11 lakh.

And with Indians shunning the island nation, the tourism industry is feeling the pinch. News portal Sun.mv explaining the significance of Indian tourists said: “Indian travellers have a counter-travel pattern to European travellers; meaning Indian visitors frequent to the Maldives during hot seasons, which coincides with a drop in European market arrivals. In other words, India is the most significant ‘filler’ for the Maldives tourism off-peak season.”

Seeing the importance of the Indian tourists, the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) also met with Munu Mahawar, the Indian high commissioner to the Maldives in April “to explore collaborative efforts in tourism promotion”.

On 9 April, the MATATO also said that plans were underway to woo Indian tourists back to the island-nation, including carrying out comprehensive roadshows across key cities in India as well as roping in influencers and conducting media familiarisation trips to the Maldives in the coming months.

The economy of the Maldives is driven by tourism – 25 per cent of its GDP directly and 75 per cent from secondary sources. So if Indian tourists boycott the country en masse, it is likely to hurt.

Why Indians are bidding adieu to Maldives

But what exactly is the cause of Indians shunning the beautiful island nation. The answer stems from the Maldives itself.

President Mohamed Muizzu, who came to power in the Maldives in September last year, has been a proponent of the ‘ India Out’ campaign and is pro-China. In fact, soon after he assumed charge, he kept his election promise of evicting Indian military personnel from his country.

Moreover, in January three ministers in his government took to X and passed offensive remarks about PM Modi as well as the country. Mariyam Shiuana, a deputy minister in the Maldivian Cabinet, called Modi a “puppet of Israel” and a “clown” on X. Her two other colleagues too joined in, posting derogatory comments about the prime minister and Indians.

The comments, which have since been deleted, angered many Indians, who then called for a boycott of the island nation. Many celebrities, for whom the Maldives has been a preferred holiday destination, also jumped on to the bandwagon, urging people to explore India’s own. Actor Amitabh Bachchan promoted travel to Lakshadweep in a post on X, while Akshay Kumar also batted for the same.

The boycott was further fuelled when EaseMyTrip, one of the country’s leading online travel platforms, declared it wouldn’t be accepting any bookings for the Maldives. However, since then, they have changed their stance, accepting bookings.

However, deteriorating ties with Maldives isn’t the only reason for the dip in Indian tourists to the archipelago. Some tour operators note that other global markets opening up for Indian travellers could also be the reason for a drop in numbers. For instance, several countries such as Kenya, Thailand, Malaysia are granting visa-free travel to Indians.

With inputs from agencies