The ongoing state of emergency imposed in the Maldives will hurt tourism more than previously anticipated, says Yusuf Riffath, the former chief of the national tour agent association.
Riffath, the former president of the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators, said this through a post on his Twitter account.
Riffath sent out the post on Friday, February 16th, when resorts in the country celebrated the Chinese New Year, which he described as being a ‘big flop’ this year.
#Chinese New Year is a big flop in #Maldives this year, Because of the #state of emergency. Lot of cancellations, all Chinese cities displayed boards of #Warning "Chinese not travel to #Maldives" Occupancy fall into 65% in Maldives Resorts,@XHNews,#VisitMaldives pic.twitter.com/JuQnRi08FQ
— Yoosuf Riffath (@YRiffath) February 16, 2018
Future looks bleak with #travel advisories announced by #Governments of key markets. #State of Emergency is destroying the #tourism industry and the economy at large. It will take months to regain confidence in the #Maldives brand. Future arrival forecasts are down significantly. pic.twitter.com/GhgIFtDuLB
— Yoosuf Riffath (@YRiffath) February 15, 2018
The Maldivian government has been taking steps to thwart the potential damage tourism, and had sent envoys to a number of countries and has guaranteed tourists that they will be safe.
Despite the declaration of the state of emergency, there will be no impact on hotels, resorts or any other businesses operating in the #Maldives tourism sector pic.twitter.com/hbFLrcsQM5
— Presidency Maldives (@presidencymv) February 7, 2018
With political conflict still ongoing, and the government's raids on a number of tourist resorts in January, efforts may need to be amplified.
Today i had a chat with a senior staff at a luxury resort. He is very concerned about the recent political turmoil and the SOE. They loose million dollar bookings every day. Maldives tourism industry is on the verge of collapsing. Who cares? #MaldivesInCrisis
— Naif Ahmed (@naaif) February 14, 2018
I'm at a travel agent and staff here are unable to keep up with the booking cancellation requests. What a loss!!
— Suspended Ibraheemu (@waddey) February 6, 2018
Last one week our resort 77 room booking cancellation because of state of emergency in Maldives
— Fayareef (@Fayareef1) February 15, 2018
@MEAIndia @makemytripcare Please help,I do not wish to travel to Maldives , Makemytrip is charging unnecessarily 35 K if i cancel, there is no cancellation charges from resort, Air india charges I am ready to bear , still operator is asking to visit maldives, please help.
— piyush (@Piyushsinha1987) February 10, 2018
@MEAQuery @SushmaSwaraj Due to ongoing turmoil, i am trying to cancel my Maldives trip, however the resort based in Madlives is charging me a cancellation fee of Rs 30k, please help and advice.
— unsocial_gaurav (@I_m_a_critic) February 14, 2018
Nations from which Maldives gets most of tourist arrivals have all, except for South Korea, issued advisories against travelling to the Maldives.
WATCH: Has the state of emergency hurt guesthouse businesses in Maafushi island?
