Minister of Tourism Ibrahim Faisal has said that tourism can be developed in any region of the Maldives sustainably adding the government has the spirit to do so. The minister was speaking at the signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding for the development of the 5-star training resort.
Tourism Minister Ibrahim Faisal said no government has done anything to promote tourism in Addu City in a sustainable manner. However, the visits to Addu and other islands where there is no tourism in the country also showed that tourism can be promoted in every region of the country.
The minister said the government's policy is to create a certain number of beds through local tourism in the islands where there is no tourism. If these beds are developed and people are trained through the training resort, it will be one of the most important things the government can do for the industry, he said.
Furthermore, Minister Faisal also spoke about the Velana International Airport (VIA) development project. The project will pave the way for more tourists to come to Maldives, he said.
The airport development project is a multimillion dollar project. It is a big project that will change the whole country. The government has launched a 20-year master plan for the development of the VIA in January this year.
The project will develop the VIA into an airport with a capacity to serve 25 million passengers annually. It has a capacity of 4,000 passengers per hour. The VIA's domestic terminal, which currently handles 300 passengers per hour, will be upgraded to a terminal capable of handling 2,000 passengers per hour.