Maldives being a small island nation has never lagged behind in celebrating the New Year. The Ministry of Tourism notched the celebration of the New Year to a higher scale by including various engaging and thrilling performances and acts in the New Year countdown music show.
The biggest highlight of the New Year music show was the unveiling of the record breaking amount of tourist arrivals to Maldives in 2017, which culminated to a total of 1,389,548. The total amount of tourist arrivals to Maldives in 2017 saw an increase of about 7 percent compared to the previous year.
Addressing the gathering, Minister of Tourism Moosa Zameer revealed that the government plans to invest about 6.5 million U.S. dollars for the development of the tourism industry in 2018. The Tourism Minister highlighted that Maldives faced various hurdles in expanding its scope in advertising the country as a tourism destination in 2017 but noted that the government has emerged victorious as the total tourist arrival has registered a significant increase.
The organizers of "Welcome 2018" revealed that the New Year music show was one of the largest festives held in Maldives, with popular Bollywood artists Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Mika Singh performing at the show. While Rahat took the breathe away with his melodious tunes, Mika made sure everyone in the public shook a leg on his blockbuster songs. img:http://s3.psmnews.mv/images/660x400/15147881971515.jpg|
In an exclusive interview with PSM News, the hosts of the night, renowned international host Salman Ahmed and the Bollywood celebrity host Aarti Kethrapal expressed their elatedness on the rave response they received by the Maldivian public. img:http://s1.psmnews.mv/images/660x400/15147881353645.jpg|
Furthermore, local artists and Habeys and 1438 Boduberu groups performed at the show. The show with its astonishing fireworks, also showcased spectacular performances by a famous Bollywood dance group.