NHGAM rejects blanket ban, but supports barring Israeli leaders

Representatives from the National Hotel and Guesthouse Association of Maldives (NHGAM) told the Parliament’s Security Services Committee on Tuesday that they do not support implementing a blanket ban on Israeli passport holders, but do support barring Israeli leaders from visiting the Maldives.

The Security Services Committee has set a February 2025 deadline to finish review of a bill submitted by the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on May 29, seeking to amend the Immigration Act in order to bar the entry of all Israeli passport holders, including those who have dual citizenship.

At a committee meeting on Tuesday morning, Ahmed Waheed, the vice president of the NHGAM, presented the association’s opinion regarding the legislature.

NHGAM’s opinion regarding the matter:

• NHGAM does not support a blanket ban on all Israeli passport holders as this would include Muslims who reside in Israel
• NHGAM supports banning Israeli leaders from entering the Maldives
• NHGAM does not believe the ban should cover members of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), as national military service is mandatory in Israel

NHGAM believes implementing a blanket ban on Israeli passport holders could have a detrimental effect on the Maldives’ tourism sector.

“Especially since individuals from the Jewish state own major shares in these online platforms [online travel agencies]. We therefore believe that if a small country such as the Maldives takes such a big stand, it could have an adverse effect on the economy,” said Ahmed.

Representatives from the NHGAM said that 3,380 Israeli tourists visited the Maldives last year. The number stands at some 1,200 visitors this year.

“Therefore, we have seen a huge decline even without such a measure,” said the association’s assistant secretary-general Nimad Ibrahim.

Representatives from the NHGAM said that given the low arrivals from Israel, imposing a blanket ban that does not exempt dual passport holders could plummet the numbers even further.

Mounting outrage over the atrocities in Gaza and other occupied Palestinian territories have sparked protests in the streets of the capital, Male’ City, with Maldivians demanding that the government ban Israeli citizens from entering the country.

Israel’s current war on Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023, has killed more than 44,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children. It has also reduced much of the Palestinian territory to rubble, displaced the vast majority of residents, and resulted in widespread malnutrition. The war has now expanded to neighboring Lebanon.