Vice President Faisal Naseem has called on nations and stakeholders to ensure that tourism plays a central role in COVID-19 recovery and the achievement of sustainable development goals. He made the remarks while delivering his statement at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) high-level thematic debate on putting sustainable and resilient tourism at the heart of an inclusive recovery.
Delivering the statement, Vice President Faisal Naseem said that the GDP of the Maldives contracted by 60% and faced losses of over USD4.6 billion but that the leadership of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and his administration, coupled with the steadfast support of the private sector, paved the road to recovery for the Maldives tourism sector from the downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Furthermore, Vice President Naseem described the establishment of tourism in the Maldives as an excellent example of collaboration between the private sector and the government. He noted that fifty years since the advent of tourism in the Maldives, it has become the main driver of the country’s economic growth, accounting for over 45% of the GDP, despite constraints including size, remoteness, and developmental challenges. Noting that the pandemic forced the Maldives to close its borders, he said that they have since been successfully reopened to travellers from across the globe. He highlighted that the country’s economy is on the road to recovery and that the Maldives was able to exceed its target of one million tourists by over 30% in 2021.
Additionally, Vice President Naseem specified the numerous government interventions that paved the path to recovery. He lauded the administration’s enactment of a minimum wage law, benefiting the lives of over 13,000 tourism sector employees, and a law that governs a 10% tourism industry service charge, of which 99% is distributed to tourism sector staff. He then described the administration’s efforts at tourism diversification and localisation, taking tourism to the island communities to encompass culture and heritage, island ecosystems to tourism products, and enhancing community participation, especially among women. He stressed that the tourism master plan reflects the government’s commitment to ensuring that the tourism industry is grounded in protecting the environment, conservation, and sustainability.