Author: Mohamed Reehaan

Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC/Visit Maldives) welcomed the one millionth tourist of 2024. MMPRC on Thursday morning, welcomed Sutapa Amornvirat, a Thai national, who arrived in the Maldives with her family on AirAsia flight FD 175 at 11:15hrs. This is her third trip the Maldives, following her honeymoon. She and her family will be holidaying at Niyama Maldives. Visit Maldives hosted a very special event in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism, to celebrate this milestone at Velana International Airport (VIA), joined by other government authorities such as the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), Maldives Immigration, and Maldives…

Maldives government has saved MVR 2.5 billion in public finances in 2024, owing to strong austerity measures, according to the Minister of Finance Dr. Mohamed Shafeeq. At the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament, the minister said stressed on the positive outcome of the cost-cutting measures initiated by the current administration. While the state has saved MVR 2.5 billion in state finances, Shafeeq said further reforms are necessary to initiate crucial plans in the government’s pipeline. The minister noted of heavy wastage in few public sectors, and emphasized the need for immediate reforms to ensure streamlined and cost-efficient operations of…

Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB) – the parent body of all state-owned enterprises (SOEs) – on Wednesday, announced seeking an international Chief Executive for the company’s top managerial role of Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO). Interested applicants are required to submit their applications before 14:00hrs on July 15, 2024. PCB has mandated that eligible applicants must have relevant experience of working and managing an fisheries-related corporation for a minimum of 08 years, with an additional four years experience in running an international fisheries-related organization or company. The SOE parent body has announced seeking a foreign CEO for MIFCO, after its…

The Maldives has attracted a total of 993,328 tourists to the island nation as of June 25, 2024 – indicating the leading tourist destination four years in a row, is less than 7,000 to hit the first milestone in tourist arrivals for the current year. As the Maldives is expected to welcome it’s millionth arrival soon, the country’s year-to-date tourist arrivals has observed a 9.3% increment. By the same period last year, tourist arrivals to the country was at 904,983 exactly. Tourist arrivals to the Maldives exclusively in the month of June (from 01st to 25th) has gone up by…

The cumulative state expenditure reached MVR 17.8 billion as of June 20, 2024, reports the Ministry of Finance. So far, the state has earned MVR 15.5 billion in revenues and grants. The overall balance for the period is a deficit of MVR 2.4 billion. The state has earned MVR 12.5 billion in tax revenues, and MVR 2.8 billion in non-tax revenues as of the review date. Comparatively, for the same period last year, state had earned MVR 11.8 billion in tax revenues, but an MVR 4.2 billion in non-tax revenues – indicating that this revenue category has declined noticeably in…

Hong Kong Airlines has achieved a return to pre-pandemic daily flight volumes in the first half of 2024. With the airline expanding its fleet along with introduction of new routes, Hong Kong Airlines plans to increase its pilot workforce by over 10% and cabin crew by 40% within the year. Moreover, to support this growth, the carrier has initiated a series of recruitment events across Hong Kong, Mainland China, and other regions. During its recent flight attendant recruitment event in Bangkok on June 15, the company drew thousands of enthusiastic job seekers looking into starting their careers in aviation. The…

China’s Chongqing Airlines has launched direct flights to the Maldives. The airline’s maiden flight landed at Velana International Airport (VIA) on 15:40hrs on Monday, June 24, carrying 82 passengers. The flight received a water salute, and its passengers were greeted by the Minister of Tourism Ibrahim Faisal, Chinese Ambassador to the Maldives Wang Lixin, and Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL)’s CEO and Managing Director Ibrahim Shareef Mohamed, along with senior officials of MACL, MMPRC and MATATO. Besides this, Chongqing Airline’s Vice President Xie Jingping was also present at VIA to greet the arrivals. Chongqing Airline is the fourth airline to…

Kuda Villingili Resort Maldives, has announced its victory in the Best Wellness Resort competition held during Global Wellness Day 2024. The event, endorsed by the Ministry of Tourism and sponsored by COSMERC, took place on June 08, 2024. The competition saw participation from 73 resorts, with 15 finalists presenting their celebrations to a panel of esteemed judges. The judges included industry experts and representatives from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Tourism. Evaluation criteria focused on the event’s outline, relevance to the #MagentaNature theme, activity engagement, guest interaction, and the quality of event documentation through videos and photos.…

Housing Development Corporation (HDC) announces the reclamation of Hulhumale’ Phase 3 resumes. Capital Marine and Civil Construction (CMCC) was contracted the reclamation project, to dredge and reclaim a total of 63 hectares of land. So far 23 hectares of land have been reclaimed under the project, that initially began in September last year. The project was put on hold due to the mass coral bleaching event Maldives experienced, and following the subsequent order by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to stop all ongoing dredging and land reclamation events across the Maldives until further notice. CMCC began reclamation for the remaining…

Maldives President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has decided to implement a new policy focused on cost reduction and revenue growth. The policy will aim to reduce the expenses of the state while subsequently enhancing its revenue growth, and a medium-term revenue strategy. The policy decision by the Maldives head of the state follows recommendations from his cabinet. The decision was reached after thorough discussions on a paper presented by the Minister of Finance Dr. Mohamed Shafeeq during the latest cabinet meeting. In addition to this policy implementation, President Dr. Muizzu assigned a cabinet sub-committee to oversee and facilitate efforts aimed at…