Author: Mohamed Reehaan

Maldives President Mr. Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Sunday evening, 03rd October, officially declared the National Tourism Day. As such, the National Tourism Day of the island nation will be commemorated every year on 03rd October. Moreover, the statesman made the declaration while delivering his remarks at a ceremony held in Kurumba Maldives on Sunday evening. The event was hosted in order to officially launch the one-year countdown to the 50th anniversary of the Maldives tourism industry. The island nation’s tourism industry officially started with the opening of its very first resort; Kurumba Maldives on 03rd October 1972. While the island…

Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) reports the development of a new harbor structure in the upper northern island of Haa Alif atoll Ihavandhoo, observes 66% progress. Moreover, the contractor that remains engaged in multiple infrastructure projects across the country, delivered the final shipment of precast concrete blocks for the quay wall construction to project site on 02nd October, Saturday. The harbor development project in the upper northern island includes dredging and excavation operations of 30,509 cubic meters. In addition to this, the contractor will construct harbor structures including a quay wall, breakwater and revetment. In addition to this, the…

Telecommunication and internet service provider, Dhiraagu has commenced providing their high-speed fiber-broadband connectivity and DhiraaguTV services to the new social housing units at Hulhumale’. The social housing units, dubbed ‘Hiyaa Flats’ are the most recently opened accommodation blocks for the public. The infrastructure was developed at the second-phase of the satellite town; the phase was completed after reclaiming land from the north end of Hulhumale’. Moreover, Dhiraagu commenced their services by integrating it through the open access network of Housing Development Corporation (HDC). During a special ceremony held on Sunday afternoon, the agreement was signed by CEO Ismail Rasheed on…

The Gross Valued Added of tourism sector for the second quarter of 2021 is MVR3,198 million (MVR3.2 billion), marking a growth of 2,212.7% in comparison with the corresponding quarter of 2020. The Gross Valued Added is commonly termed as an “economic productivity metric” that is used to measure the contribution of corporate subsidiaries, companies or municipalities towards an economy, producer or sector or even a region. Investopedia excerpt of GVA is described as “the output of the country less the intermediate consumption, which is the difference between gross output and net output.” The massive expansion in the GVA of the…

The second quarter’s real Quarterly Gross Domestic Product (QGDP) in 2021 reached MVR15,421 million (MVR15.4 billion) at market prices. Moreover, according to the Maldives Bureau of Statistics, the quarterly GDP observed a growth of 75.3% during the review quarter when compared with the corresponding quarter in 2020. While the recovery was strong in terms of quarterly GDP during the first quarter, where the total at market price stood at MVR17,374 million (MVR17.4 billion), the country’s economy “hit a soft patch” during the second quarter. Furthermore, the growth in the quarterly GDP is mainly reflected by the positive contribution in the…

According to Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) the national reserves of the country increased by USD17.2 million by the end of August 2021. Furthermore, the central bank of Maldives informed that the gross national reserves of the country reached a total of USD874.3 million by the end of the review period. Earlier, the reserve total stood at USD857.1 million by the end of July 2021. The national reserve observed a significant improvement in the current year, as MMA reported that the reserve total stood at USD569.8 million during August in 2020, which was driven down due to the Covid-19 global impact.…

According to the latest Economic Update by Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) the rate of inflation measured by the annual percentage change in the national CPI, decelerated to 0.4% in August 2021. Moreover, the inflation rate against the percentage change in the national Consumer Price Index (CPI) decelerated from 0.9% in July 2021. Meanwhile, the monthly percentage change in the national CPI decelerated to 0.1% in August 2021, from 2.8% in July 2021. MMA reports that the largest contribution to the monthly rate of inflation came from vegetables at 0.12 percentage points, fruits at 0.11 percentage points, housing rent at 0.03…

The Maldives pavilion is open to welcome visitors at the Expo 2020 Dubai, while the country is represented at the pavilion by Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Tourism and Visit Maldives. The Expo 2020 Dubai or more commonly referred as World Expo, held at Dubai, United Arab Emirates will run for a six-month duration. The fair commenced on 01st October and will last until 31st March 2022. Moreover, this year’s expo theme is “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” while the fair provides a strong platform for exhibitors and industry affiliates to showcase destinations, latest innovations and detail out potential…

S Hotels and Resorts Public Company Limited, the flagship hospitality wing of Thailand’s Singha Estate PLC announces their step into the future, accepting payments in cryptocurrencies. Moreover, S Hotels and Resorts announced their partnership with FTX, one of the leading cryptocurrency trading platforms in the world, that will enable customers to book and pay for their stays using “virtual online currencies.” As such, the first properties under the S Hotels and Resorts that will welcome this new change will be the SAii Lagoon Maldives and Hard Rock Hotel Maldives, situated at the first integrated resort island; CROSSROADS Maldives. Furthermore, the…

Maldives Border Miles announces the introduction of free VIP services to the program’s Abaarana category members. Moreover, the Abaarana category is the ‘Gold Tier’ of the Maldives Border Miles programs and the members must “earn four-thousand points” to achieve this tier. The VIP service provides eligible members to relax at the Maamahi Executive Lounge upon arrival to Maldives. The Maamahi Executive Lounge is a top-notch resting and relaxing avenue with “plenty of refreshements, a mini duty-free shop” and free Wi-Fi connectivity. Interested travelers can enroll in the rewards program via bordermiles.mv/login and experience additional benefits when traveling to Maldives. Furthermore,…