VP Faisal: 22 new resorts to open by end of next year

Vice President Faisal Naseem, on Wednesday, has stated that Maldives is expected to see the opening of 22 new resorts by the end of next year.

He had remarked this whilst speaking at the opening of the ‘UNWTO Global Summit on Community-based Tourism’, held at CROSSROADS Maldives this morning.

Providing an overview of the current efforts by the government to further boost Maldivian tourism – VP Faisal stressed that the administration has rapidly scaled up infrastructural development. On this note, he underscored that the administration has opened 426 tourism facilities, increasing the capacity by over 14,000 beds over the last three and a half years. He also pointed out 107 resorts across the country were in various phases of development at present – with the opening of 22 new properties expected by the end of next year which would expand capacity by approximately 5,000 beds.

With reference to the downturn in the Maldivian tourism sector and economy arising from the COVID-19 pandemic – VP Faisal applauded President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s vision and leadership in guiding the country towards resilience and recovery.

Noting that the road to recovery is long and building a resilient economy will be challenging, he advised to maximize the potential of our tourism industry for inclusive development. In this regard, he stated we must do more to support our collective efforts to protect the environment and to adopt innovative approaches to using and sharing the benefits of innovation in a fair and equitable manner across our communities.

VP Faisal also shed light on the on the history of Maldives’ tourism and the various obstacles tourism pioneers had to overcome to revolutionize the Maldivian economy

“Today, we are proud of the accomplishments of the pioneers and those who followed in their footsteps in making the Maldives a trusted brand worldwide,” he had said.