Ministry of Tourism has stated lease announcements for tourism development in new islands will be made on December 17, 2019.
An official from the tourism ministry said the announcements will be made in the last event of the ministry for the year 2019 titled "Burabi". The ministry says the event will witness the launch of "Experience Maldives", a travel documentary to market tourism in addition to announcement of new islands for lease. Additionally, the ministry will also launch its magazine and an application it has developed for the tourism sector.
Minister of Tourism Ali Waheed had said the ministry will prioritise leasing new islands from areas that lack tourism development. He said the islands will be leased after proper environments and economic impact assessments have been carried out to determine the environmental and economic issues rising from the development.
Ministry of Tourism expects 9 new tourist resorts to be opened by the end of next year.