Author: Mohamed Reehaan

The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli has been recognized as a top 10 resort in the Indian Ocean by the Condé Nast Traveler Annual Readers’ Choice Awards. Over 520,000 Condé Nast Traveler readers submitted responses rating their experiences across the globe. The Readers’ Choice Awards with their unparalleled legacy as the travel industry’s longest-running and most prestigious accolades remain the ultimate symbol and acknowledgment of excellence within the travel sector. “We are deeply honored to receive this award for the fourth consecutive year, reaching the top ten for the first time this year,” said Vincent Pauchon, the General Manager of The…

The premium luxury airline “Beond”, founded by SIMDI Group and United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Arabesque, officially launched. The airline’s maiden flight landed at Velana International Airport (VIA) on Monday, October 9. The flight’s arrival was marked with a water salute bestowed by Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), VIA’s operator. Beond, the leisure luxury airline, operates a fleet of airplanes equipped with fully reconfigured 44-business class seats. Beond CEO, Tero Taskila said commercial flights of the airline scheduled for November 2023 will begin from Zurich, Munich, and Riyadh. The airline’s next batch of destinations include Milan, Bangkok following which Chinese routes…

The Maldives Civil Court has issued a prohibition of travel on a vessel that capsized on Kudagiri lagoon. AM MSV Mariya Sinthayathirai Riyana capsized on Kudagiri lagoon earlier in January 2023. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) moved ahead by imposing an MVR 3 million fine on the vessel’s proprietor. The agency filed a lawsuit in Civil Court after the vessel’s owner failed to pay the fine, additionally seeking a travel ban on the boat. Civil Court earlier on Friday, October 6, issued the travel ban order on the vessel and demanded it remained within Maldivian waters until the case concluded. The…

One of the largest credit rating agencies in the world, Fitch Ratings, has once again assigned a “B minus” rating to the Maldives. The agency gave a “B plus” rating to Maldives before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Following the pandemic, the agency changed Maldives’ rank to “CCC” (Triple-C) in 2020, and later changed it to a “B minus” in 2021. Fitch’s rating for the Maldives remained stable because of significant developments in the Maldives’ productivity and expansion of the tourism industry. The agency also estimates a 7.2% economic growth in 2023, and a 6.6% increment for the following two…

Maldives National Association of Construction Industry (MNACI) raised concerns over the government delays in paying private contractors for state-initiated projects. MNACI said that private construction companies, contracted for various state-initiated projects under the Public Sector Investment Program (PSIP) or other projects face delays in receiving their payments. The contractors also, under the agreement, generally spends from their own funds to execute the project, which it gets compensated added with the service profit in the billed invoice to the government. Due to delays in payments by the state, several contractors are challenged in paying to their workers or to third-party suppliers.…

Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi has been recognized as the sixth best resort in the Indian Ocean in the Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice Awards 2023. Over 520,000 Condé Nast Traveller readers submitted responses, rating their travel experiences across the globe for the readers’ choice awards. “We are truly proud and honored to receive this prestigious award by the readers of Condé Nast Traveller,” said Steven Stefaniuk, the General Manager of Sirru Fen Fushi. “This acknowledgement is a true testament to the dedication, hard work, and passion of our team members who continuously strive to provide exceptional service and hospitality.…

Dusit Thani Maldives has been recognized among the South Asian region’s best resorts in this year’s Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice Awards. The resort stood out among thousands of contenders for its commitment to delivering exceptional hospitality experiences. “It is truly an honor to receive the Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice Award for 2023. This accolade is a testament to the hard work and passion of our team, as well as the loyalty of our valued guests,” said Jean-Louis Ripoche, the General Manager of Dusit Thani Maldives.

Yamaha’s technical training focused on its motorbikes and outboard engines has concluded successfully, with certificates conferred to participants. A total of 25 participants from various companies participated in the training program held from September 12 to 25. The participants agreed they learned valuable and new skills in the program. “We received a lot of information under a short span. Everything in the training was conducted professionally, and it was as perfect as the training programs held previously,” a participant commented. The program held by Alia Investments in collaboration with Yamaha’s Technical Academy in Japan aimed to create trained professionals to…

Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) has spent nearly MVR 1 billion for its outsourced departments. IGMH said that it outsourced only two of its departments to foreign hospitals. The hospital outsourced its National Cardiac Center and National Urorenal and Fertility Center to two Indian hospitals. IGMH signed the agreement with Meditrina Hospital on November 15, 2015 to manage the National Cardiac Center for a period of 10 years. The Indian hospital is also responsible with managing clinical services and providing training experiences for local doctors. From the date of the agreement until July 2023, IGMH has spent USD 28.7 million…

Maldives government has sold an additional MVR 3.1 billion worth of treasury bills (T-Bills) to adjust state expenditure. The Ministry of Finance has sold a 28-day repayment T-Bill worth MVR 1.7 billion and a 98-day repayment T-Bill worth MVR 230 million. Besides this, the government has announced the sale of T-Bills for the following; T-Bill worth MVR 200 million with a 182-day repayment plan T-Bill worth MVR 980 million with a 364-day repayment plan The T-Bills are sold at an interest rate between 3.50 to 4.60%. Earlier in September, Ministry of Finance sold T-bills worth MVR 2.6 billion.