The Ministry of Tourism has revealed its decision to inspect all the establishments in Maldives that provide accommodation for tourists.

At a press conference held at the Ministry of Thursday, Minister Ali Waheed stated that the inspection will be conducted within six to eight weeks and will apply for all establishments that accommodate tourists.

The decision to conduct at investigation comes after recent recurring accidents in the industry that have taken lives of tourists. Minister Waheed further said that this inspection will ensure these guest houses, hotels and inns are adequate and safe to accommodate tourists.

Tourism Ministry is to conduct the inspection along with officers of the Maldives Police Service (MPS) and Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF).

“We will be conducting the inspection with the help of MNDF and MPS. This inspection is followed by President Solih’s orders” said Minister Waheed.

In addition, Minister Waheed stated that although such inspections were carried out previously as well, but that they were not done efficiently.

The Ministry’s objective is to conduct the inspection in a way that will benefit the industry and bring desirable amendments to prevent losses.

So far this year, nine tourists have died following various accidents.

Three employees working in the tourism industry have died along with three separate fire incidents.

Earlier, the Ministry had revealed that the past year brought success to Maldives tourism. As such, a 5.8 percent of progress was observed in 2018, with a record number of 1.2 million arrivals.

While 48.9 percent of arrivals was from Europe, the greatest number of arrivals was from China. The Ministry also revealed that the number of beds had increased to 44,890 in 2018.