20 guesthouses being used as Covid-19 transit facilities

A total of 20 guesthouse in the greater Malé region is being utilized as Covid-19 transit facilities.

Tourism Ministry has publicized a list of the guesthouses, with 18 additional guesthouses added within the ongoing month; Maagiri Hotel and Unima Grand were being used since July.

Nine of the 20 guesthouses are in Malé, while the remaining are in its suburban district Hulhumalé.

The ministry also noted that two additional guesthouses will be added to the list, from September 1.

Transit facilities are used to quarantine those that wish to travel to outlying islands, from the capital where a number of Covid-19 cases have been detected.

Earlier this month, the tourism ministry gave approval to restart operations to a total of 78 tourist vessels.

While Maldives’ borders were closed on March 27 following the Covid-19, the country reopened them for international travel on July 15.

An official from Velana International Airport said that there was an increase in tourist arrivals in the first 15 days of August, compared to the last 15 days of July.

The country’s tourism industry was restarted with guidelines to be followed amid the pandemic, which includes a ban on tourists visiting any inhabited islands.

Similarly, tourists on safari boats will not be allowed to do so as well.

The country welcomed a record breaking 1,7 million tourist arrivals in 2019, and a two million target was made for 2020. However, following the pandemic, this has been reduced to 850,000 visitors.