Tourism's Golden Jubilee only complete “when industry workers are satisfied"

Minister of Tourism Dr. Abdulla Mausoom has said that the essence of the Golden Jubilee for Maldivian Tourism will only be celebrated properly when industry workers are satisfied.

Speaking on RaajjeTV's "Viyafaari Miadhu" program, Dr. Mausoom said that the most important stakeholders for the tourism industry are the workers, that their satisfaction is important and that their needs are being met, as the Maldives prepares to gear up for a grand celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Tourism in the country in 2022.

Dr. Mausoom revealed that the many efforts are underway at the ministry to help tourism industry workers, and that progress will only be made possible by expanding the industry further to provide more opportunities for employment for workers.

The minister also acknowledged that people would not want to work in jobs where they did not make enough money to meet essential needs, or ones where they did not have any money at the end of the month to spend freely.

He added that Maldivians working in the tourism sector should be able to apply for and work in high-paying positions as they fit, and that the Ministry was working to help skilled and productive youth secure the kind of employment they are seeking within the industry.

He said that there would always be a need for foreign workers in the industry as there were just too many jobs for Maldivians alone, but detailed the goal as to allow more Maldivian's to work in high-level positions in the industry where they would be making the desired income.

Noting that a salary was only part of a tourism worker's income, Dr. Mausoom remarked that occupancy at resorts needs to be increased to further boost the income generated for workers from tips and service charges.

Dr. Mausoom also announced that they would be initiating profession-specific education and skill-building programs for employees working in the tourism sector, extending from the most basic level to advance training.